Underestimated Part 2
by Aris1013
Summary: After his kidnapping, Bridge is struggling to get back to normal. Now the voice of the man that hurt him is in his head, and the Green Ranger is finding it difficult to ask for help. Can Bridge overcome the thoughts in his mind, or will they overtake him completely?
1. Nightmares

**AN: This is a sequel to Underestimated. If you have not read that yet you may want to before reading this, but you can also probably figure out what is going on if you don't. Enjoy! **

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There was so much blood, too much in fact. On the floor, all over his hands, all over his friend. Sky's dreams kept taking him back there; to the moment they had found Bridge just over two weeks before. He could not get the image of Edward Wiesel dead on the floor out of his mind, or the restraints he had to unscrew from his best friend. He could not get past the guilt of what happened no matter how many times he was told it was not his fault. He had to relive those moments almost every night.

Sky jolted awake and looked over to the other side of the room to see Bridge asleep. He was twitching a little, but that too had been happening almost every night since he returned. Sky knew he was also having nightmares about what happened, but every time Sky woke up from his, he had to check to make sure Bridge was still there. He needed to know he was safe. When morning came both Rangers tried to push aside their troubles during the night and face the day to come. Bridge gave Sky a sympathetic look.

"You really need to understand nothing that happened was your fault."

Sky realized Bridge knew exactly what he had been dreaming about. "I'm trying not to Bridge, but I just keep thinking of everything I should have done."

"Me too." Bridge got up and went into the bathroom.

Sky hated seeing Bridge in such a bad state since his kidnapping. He knew it would take time to heal, but he had hoped Bridge would be making more progress at this point. He missed the old Bridge, and right now he was not seeing much of him. Until he was on active duty again, Bridge had convinced Kat and Commander Crueger that he needed something to do or he would go stir crazy. They let him do minimal tech work in the Command Center to keep his mind off of everything. Bridge was thankful for the distraction, but he knew he would only be in the Command Center each day until he had to go to physical therapy. His wrists, ankles, and neck were healing nicely, but would each leave two scares from the restraints that held him. Dr. Felix had used a bandage that helped with the scarring, but the deeper wounds would leave marks forever. Just another daily reminder of what he went through.

When the time came for Bridge to go down to the medical wing, he sighed at the thought. He hated going because he felt like he was not making much progress. The nerve damage he had was not terrible, but he was in pain. Enough pain to slow him down, and cause trouble doing simple things. When he got there the therapist, Dr. Yun, was waiting for him. She smiled at him and asked him the same questions she did every day.

"How are we doing today?"

Bridge shrugged. "Alright, mostly the same as yesterday."

"Consistency is always better than decline."

"It's not improvement either."

"You are improving Bridge, but remember you have to give time for your muscles and nerves to heal. It has not been very long, so you have made great progress so far."

Bridge nodded and began doing his daily exercises that were meant to help stretch out his muscles. Dr. Yun mostly made him stretch his ankles, wrists, and neck. She also tested his grip by having him squeeze a stress ball as tight as he could and hold it until she told him to let go. After about forty-five minutes, the therapy was complete for the day, and Bridge, like always, felt sore and tired. He hated how low his energy had been since he was taken. Now all he wanted to do was lay down. As much as he hated giving into how tired he was, Bridge needed to rest after physical therapy. He headed back to his room to lie down for a little while, but like always the nightmares crept back in.

"_Can't have you falling asleep."_

Bridge jolted awake waiting for the shock of pain to course through his body, but it never came. After swinging his legs over his bed, Bridge sighed and grabbed the sunglasses the team had given to him before he had gotten out of the infirmary. His sensitivity to light was not as bad as when he first got back, but any bright flashes would make him panic a little. He headed to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. When he got there, no one else was there at the time. This was often how it had been for Bridge lately. He felt so alone since he returned. The Rangers were always out defending the city against Gruumm, and everyone else was in class or training. His schedule was so different compared to everyone else's now, and he often found himself on opposite hours. Bridge reached for an apple that was sitting in a basket on the counter, but when he picked it up a sharp pain ran up his arm causing him to drop it. In his frustration of this, Bridge hit the basket across the room and yelled out.

"You know I don't always like eating healthy either, but that's no reason to beat the fruit up."

Bridge had not noticed Jack in the doorway before his outburst; he sighed and sat down on the stool beside him.

Jack came over and sat next to him. "What's going on?"

Bridge ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "I'm worried I won't get better."

"I thought the physical therapy was helping."

"It has been, but I hate feeling so helpless. I can't grip anything tight enough to hold, so how am I supposed to punch or kick? I can't fight like this. I can barely function right now. What good am I as a Ranger if I can't even be on the field?"

"I know everyone has been telling you the same thing, that you need time, but believe them Bridge, that is what you need."

"Maybe…I'm worried that if I heal, I still won't be able to do anything."

Jack could hear the worry in the Green Ranger's voice. "Bridge you have every right to be scared to go back out there after what happened. You went through something crazy and intense, and it's okay if you take a while to get back to yourself. There's no time limit on healing."

Bridge nodded, but Jack was not sure his words were consoling him.

"What do ya say we start some training? Just small stuff to keep you in shape?" Jack gave a small smile.

Bridge smiled back. "You saying I'm not in shape?"

"I'm saying with all that tech work, you're going to be rusty." He nudged Bridge a little.

A small laugh escaped Bridge, but he nodded. "Thanks Jack."

Bridge felt better once he and Jack were in the training room. He had barely seen the team, and was beginning to feel like he was not needed. They were doing just fine on the field without him, and with their schedules being so different, Bridge was rarely able to talk to anyone anymore. Jack was now making the effort to help Bridge, which was a relief. The Red Ranger did simple drills with him, mostly blocking. He made sure he had Bridge do things that would not hurt any sensitive areas. Doing these simple drills was enough to raise Bridge's moral for a while.

"See, you'll be able to get back into it once you're healed." Jack smiled at him.

Bridge nodded. "I feel better about it. I'm still worried about everything, but I think I might be able to fight again."

"You will." Jack eyed him.

After his drill with Jack, Bridge decided he needed to do some meditation. He had slowly been rebuilding the walls and blocks in his mind, but there were not going up as fast as he liked. He was in tuned to everything and everyone at the base. A few months ago this would have given him a pounding headache, nose bleed, and possibly cause him to pass out, but now he was doing alright. His body was adapting, like it always did, to his abilities, but Bridge worried about how fast they were still evolving. It used to be hard for him to focus on one thought of a certain individual, but now they were all swimming in and out, he would see who they belonged to, and his brain was processing all of it. Of course he did not want all of that in his head, so Bridge crossed his legs, took a deep breath, and worked on blocking some of the thoughts out. Little by little, Bridge was replacing the blocks in his mind. He was pushing each voice out one by one.

"_Now, now, can't have you blocking me out." _

Bridge scrunched his eyes closed at the familiar voice in his head. Edward Wiesel, the man that tortured him. The man he killed. Bridge's mind raced as he attempted to push the man out of his head. Bridge saw all of his thoughts and memories when he went into his head and ripped it apart, and now the man's subconscious was developing deep in his mind. Bridge concentrated as hard as he could on pushing the man's thoughts out.

"Umm, excuse me."

Bridge felt a nudge on his shoulder which snapped him out of his thoughts. He took a quick intake of breath and looked through his dark lenses to see a cadet standing in front of him.

"You're bleeding."

At that, Bridge wiped his nose with his gloved hand, and found that he was bleeding a lot. His deep concentration was enough to cause the small gush coming from his face. Bridge sprang up and made his way to his room before looking over his shoulder at the cadet.

"Allergies…" He rushed into his room and to the bathroom where he set out of clean himself up.

Bridge grabbed a wad of toilet paper and began to wipe the blood away, trying not to panic. He was worried this would happen. To kill Edward meant going into his mind and ripping it apart piece by piece. He saw everything in the man's mind, and in turn almost absorbed it into his. Now those thoughts were creeping to the surface of Bridge's mind trying to replace his own thoughts. After the blood stopped coming out of his nose, Bridge looked at himself in the mirror.

"There you are, all you, all there. You need to stay there me. You can't let him beat you."

Bridge flushed the bloody toilet paper down the toilet and wondered why he did not just put it in the trash. He needed to tell the others about what was going on. They could help him keep his sanity and his self, but here he was hiding the evidence. Bridge washed his face and left the bathroom running into Sky coming into their room.

"Oh, hey."

"Hey." Sky walked over to his bed and set his jacket down. He noticed the Green Ranger fidgeting. "You okay?"

_Tell him. Tell him. Tell him! _"Yeah, fine, just tired from everything today. Jack started training with me a little."

Sky nodded. "Good, that's really good Bridge, you'll be back out there in no time."

Bridge smiled a little. "Yeah, I hope so."

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**Thanks for reading! **


	2. Back In

**Thank you Adrianna Agray, Kelli.n.c, and StyxxsOmega for reviewing! **

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Bridge hated seeing the academy therapist. It was mandatory for him to go every week since he had gone through such an ordeal. He understood protocol, but he never liked sitting in that office talking to Dr. Thomas.

"You seem nervous today."

Bridge shook his head, thankful she could not see his eyes under the sunglasses. "Just frustrated I guess, and bored. I just want to be okay so I can get back to normal, but it's taking too long…and I know what you are going to say, that these things take time. I know, that is what everyone keeps saying, but I'm getting sick of it."

"It's okay to feel frustrated, but that does not mean you should push yourself too hard either. Your physical therapy is going well, and Dr. Yun said you are showing improvements every session."

"Yeah, I guess so. Jack has been helping me train too, nothing extraneous, but it's been helping."

"See, it's the little things that all add up in the end, don't you think?"

Bridge sighed a little. "Yeah, I suppose it is."

Seeing her never made Bridge feel better. Talking about what happened and what he was feeling made no difference. He was still in pain, he was still tired, he was still frustrated, and he still remembered everything that happened to him. If anything, talking to Dr. Thomas reminded him that something terrible did happen to him and at the rate he was going, he was not sure if could ever move on.

"_Still thinking of me?" _

Bridge groaned as he heard the voice of Edward in his mind. He could not seem to block him out. He knew it was not really him, but having all of Edward's past thoughts and memories in his head did not make them any less real to Bridge.

"_I think you're glad I'm in here Green, that's why you haven't told anyone." _

"_Just shut up and go away."_ Bridge thought back at the voic,e and all he got in return was a laugh.

He needed to get the voice out of his head, and he needed to do it fast. It was not much longer after Bridge's therapy session that Jack caught up to him and asked if he wanted to train. Bridge nodded and followed Jack to the training room.

They started with blocking again, but Jack could tell Bridge was getting bored with that.

"Come at me."

Bridge hesitated a moment before coming at Jack full force. Jack was a little taken back at first, but began to block the blows. Bridge had learned that if he fought more with his arms and upper legs, the contact did not hurt as bad. All he could think about was the voice in his head, sitting there growing and pushing its way deeper. Bridge did not even notice he was starting to corner Jack towards the wall. He did not think when he flipped and kicked Jack to the ground. Only when Jack was on the ground and Bridge tried to hit him again, did he notice what he was doing. His arm went through the Red Ranger, and Jack rolled away. Bridge was out of breath, but straightened up and stared at Jack.

"I-I'm sorry."

Jack got up with a worried look. "No, it's alright. Actually that was good, Bridge. How'd that feel?"

The Green Ranger was not sure if he meant mentally or physically, so he went with the easier answer. "Hitting above my wrists and ankles is helping; doesn't shoot any pain up my limbs."

"You're really getting there Bridge, you'll be back in no time."

Bridge smiled a little. After Jack left the room, Bridge got some water and sat down. He wanted to hurt his friend when they were fighting. He wanted the control and power of the situation, and that terrified him. He decided to go to the cafeteria to get something to eat, eating always made him feel better. He got a sandwich and sat down at one of the tables. Bridge was deep in concentration when Sky sat down.

When Bridge said nothing, Sky could tell something was off.

"You okay Bridge?"

Bridge snapped out of his thoughts. "What? Oh, yeah…well no, yes, actually I don't know."

"What's going on?" Sky was trying to figure him out.

Bridge sighed. "I was training with Jack earlier and I don't know, I got a little rough. I guess I feel bad about it."

"Bridge you have every right to lose your wits a little. You've been so stressed out with everything. You don't have to hold back every time you start to train, getting your anger out is probably a good thing. I know it helps me work through everything."

Bridge looked at his food.

"Unless there's more?" Sky felt like he was not getting to the Green Ranger.

"_Go on Bridge, tell him about the power you craved. Tell him about me." _

He looked back up at Sky. "I guess that's it. I'm just worried I'll never be ready to get back out there."

"You will be, Bridge. Just keep at it." Sky smiled.

"_Good boy." _

Bridge knew Sky would be going to weapons training after he ate, so he decided to go back to their room to try and meditate again. He had to make sure no one could walk in on him like before incase he had another nosebleed, or worse. Once back to his room, Bridge put his sunglasses on his desk and sat on his bed. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his own mind. He needed to find his thoughts, his feelings, not those of everyone else. As he was blocking everyone else out, Bridge could feel something else creeping in. It was Edward's thoughts, his mind, his feelings. Before he could push him out the thoughts spoke to him.

"_I can help you if you just let me in." _

"_No, I need you to get out of my mind." _Bridge attempted to push the thoughts away.

"_Don't you want to fight again? Not feel the pain I caused?" _

That made Bridge stop.

"_Just let me stay here, let me help you push past your pain so you can fight again. Isn't that all you want?" _

"_You aren't even real, you're just my subconscious. What was left of his thoughts, how could you possibly help me?" _

The voice in his head laughed. _"You don't think I'm real, but you are talking to me like I am? Real or not, you need me. That's why you haven't said anything about me. You know they will kick you off the squad if they find out. Try to lock you up for hearing voices." _

Bridge worried about that every day. _"What do you want from me?" _

The voice was silent but Bridge could almost hear the smile. This felt like before when he was strung up, unable to see. All he could do was rely on what Edward said. Bridge took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He knew the voice was not really Edward, he knew that it was only what was left over from when he invaded his mind. Knowing that, though, did not make it feel any less real. Bridge decided he needed to work through this on his own, if all the thoughts were just his own, then he really had nothing be afraid of. Edward had no power over him, he was dead. No, Bridge would be fine, he had to be, there was no way he was going to let that monster hurt him anymore.

The next day Bridge was at physical therapy, and seemed to be improving. The exercises Dr. Yun made him do felt easier, and he felt stronger that he had in a while.

"You are really beginning to regain the function of your hands and feet. I presume the extra training has been helping."

Bridge nodded. "Yeah, I guess it has."

"How's your pain?"

Bridge clenched his fists together. "Okay, hurts a little, but not as sore as usual after all this."

"That's really good Bridge. Keep doing what you are doing and I can see you back out on the field very soon."

"Really?" Bridge smiled a little.

"As long as you ready."

Bridge nodded. "Yeah, I am. I'm so bored of sitting around here all day doing minor lab and tech stuff."

Later that day, Bridge was in the Command Center helping Kat while the Rangers were out on a mission. Gruumm has sent a monster to attack the city, and they were fighting it with everything they had. Bridge was watching from the computer, not liking how the fight was going. The monster was strong and he was sending more and more Krybots to attack them. Bridge tapped his fingers on the computer not sure how much more he could watch. He looked at Crueger and Kat who seemed calm, so he held his tongue. He began to feel more at ease when the rangers began to get the upper hand, but then the monster jumped in a giant robot.

"Sending Delta Runners." Kat sent the runners to the Rangers.

Bridge knew without him they could not form the Megazord, but he hoped they would be able to defeat the robot without it. At first the Rangers were holding their own, but soon the robot was becoming too much for them. Bridge turned to Commander Crueger.

"Sir, they need help."

"They can handle themselves, Cadet."

"With all due respect sir, they are getting crushed out there. They need the Megazord."

"You are not on active duty, Cadet."

Bridge gave him a desperate look. "But I could be, sir. All you have to do is give the consent to have me as an active Ranger again. Please, sir."

Crueger thought for a moment. "Are you ready to go back out there?"

"Yes, yes I am."

A small sigh escaped the Commander. "I want it to be clear that this will be a trial run, and any sign of your inability to do the job will result in reevaluation of your status."

A slight smile crossed Bridge's face. "Understood sir, thank you." He pulled out his morpher. "S.P.D. Emergency!"

He morphed, and jumped in his runner to join the other rangers. Right before he arrived to the scene the robot got a shot in, hitting Jack's runner. Bridge rode up and shot the monster with his laser.

"Need some help?"

"Bridge!" The Rangers were happy to see their fellow teammate return.

"Let's do this!"

The team formed the Megazord and began to fight he monster with everything they had. He was so taken back by their sudden turn around, he attempted to flee from the robot and escape the Rangers. The team jumped out of their Zord and chased him on foot.

"Freeze!" Jack held out his laser as the others surrounded the criminal. He held out his morpher and found the monster guilty for his crimes against Earth.

After the monster was carded, the Rangers turned to Bridge and Jack spoke.

"Bridge, it's great to see you back on the field!"

"Feels good to be back." Bridge was happy that the Zord battle went so quickly and well. He just hoped everything would stay that way and Crueger would not pull him back off of duty.

Bridge waited for the thoughts in his mind to overpower him again and reveal the voice of the man he hated, but none came. He hoped all the stress from his recovery was what caused him to manifest the voice, maybe now that things were beginning to go back to normal he would not hear it again. Although Bridge would have loved to believe that, something inside of him told him he was wrong.

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**AN: Thanks for reading! **


	3. Trouble

**Thank you Adrianna Agray, Son of Whitebeard, StyxxsOmega, and wrestlechick93 for reviewing!**

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Five days had passed since Bridge was back on active duty, and five days have gone by since he had heard Edward's voice. He was starting to believe it was all behind him, that what he was hearing was due to the trauma he had endured while held captive by the man. Bridge was beginning to feel good again, and although he was nowhere near one hundred percent, he felt better. Training was working, and he was learning to fight where it did not cause him pain, and his physical therapy was showing signs of improvement. As each day went by, the memories of what happened to him were fading.

Bridge had just finished physical therapy and was heading to get some food when the alarms went off. Bridge was still getting used to responding to the calls after being out of the field for so long, but his reflexes still took over and he ran to the Command Center.

"B Squad, Gruumm has sent down an alien that is terrorizing the city, go bring him in." Commander Crueger gave the team their orders.

"Yes sir! S.P.D. Emergency!"

The team morphed and headed into the city to fight the monster and now several Krybots that were attacking people in the streets. The team was fighting the Krybots, trying to get to the monster, but they were having trouble getting through all of them. Bridge had been fighting the robots when he realized he had an opening to get to the monster attacking everything around him Bridge flipped over one of the Krybots and hit the monster with his arm causing it to yell out. The large blue monster grew angry and began to attack Bridge at full force. Bridge blocked the first few punches, but then the creature caught his wrist and flipped him to the ground. Bridge screamed out in pain that was now shooting up his arm. The monster had grabbed right where he had been restrained. As Bridge got up the pain in his arm was not subsiding. Any blow would cause more pain so he began fighting with his legs instead. Bridge was losing his concentration.

"_Why fight with your hands when you don't have to?" _

Bridge stopped for a moment. He thought the voice of Edward was gone, but he was certain he had just heard it. His pause gave the monster the advantage and he kicked Bridge hard in the chest causing him to fall to the ground.

"_You're stronger than that Green, do to him what you did to me." _

"No."

"_Think how easy it would be, just get in his mind and tear it down. He won't be able to cause any more damage. He won't be able to hurt anyone ever again" _

The monster was coming after Bridge, but before he could hit him again, something in Bridge snapped. The monsters hand was coming down on Bridge when it stopped in midair. He struggled against the invisible force holding it; frozen in place. He struggled to speak, not able to get any words out. Bridge was starting to get into the creature's mind. He saw him talking to Gruumm, telling him how he was a general on his planet and had fought in many wars. Bridge began to see some of the terrible things the monster had done to win those wars. As Bridge dug deeper into the monster's mind, he noticed the rangers finish up with the Krybots and begin heading in his direction. He pulled back from his mind invasion and grabbed his morpher, jumping up as he held it out.

"Judgement mode!"

The monster was found guilty, and the team ran up just in time for Bridge to card it.

"Hey, you got him before he was able to jump into a giant robot, nice job!" Z was happy the battle was over.

"Yeah, you really held your own against that guy, nice job Bridge." Jack clapped Bridge on the back.

"It's great to have you back Bridgey." Syd too congratulated Bridge on his job well done against the monster.

Sky however stayed silent, he had noticed the strange pause in the fight, but was not close enough to see exactly what had happened. He walked over to Bridge.

"You okay?"

Bridge nodded. "Yeah, fine."

Sky wished they were unmorphed so he could see the look on Bridge's face, but for now he would have to believe his friend.

"_You could have ended him. You could have had all the power." _

Bridge ignored the voice in his head and tried to concentrate on what was going on around him. He needed to stay focused. 

"Come on, let's get back to the base." Jack yelled for Sky and Bridge to follow.

"Good work catching yet another soldier sent down by Gruumm." Crueger nodded at his team. "Cadet Carson, you showed great skills out in battle today, thus proving that you are able to handle the pressures of the field. Gruumm will not stop Rangers, remain strong. Dismissed."

The team saluted at their Commander before exiting the room.

Bridge was walking down the hall when Edward began to speak to him.

"_Yes, nice work out there indeed. You could have destroyed that thing, reigned over it in an instant. What happens to that alien now? He sits in his card, but then what? Will Gruumm stop sending soldiers? No, not unless you show him there is someone to be afraid of. You need to send him a message." _

Bridge was trying to ignore the words in his head, but they were so loud.

"_Did you see into his mind? There were some interesting things in there don't you think?" _

Memories of the alien's time as a general flashed across Bridge's mind. He had several different strategies, ones that Bridge would never use himself. They went against what S.P.D. stood for, but he could not help the thoughts circling through his head.

That night Bridge was having trouble sleeping. Between the fight that day, physical therapy, and now the voices still in his head, Bridge was feeling a lot of pain. His arms and legs hurt, his neck hurt, and his head was pounding. He tossed and turned, unable to find a position without shooting pain coursing through him. Too much was swirling in his head, his mind was going back to his time under Edward's capture. Every time he began to fall asleep, his would feel a jolt run through him. Bridge gasped, expecting to see bright lights all around him, but was relieved to find himself in his room.

"_I think you miss our games." _

Bridge groaned a little. _"Go away." _

"_Now, why would I want to do that? Not when I can take your pain away." _

That got Bridge's attention, but he stayed quiet.

"_I'm in your mind Bridge, I know you are interested. Just relax and let me have a spin for a while." _

"_You want control of my body? You aren't even real." _

"_I'm real enough, besides I'm dead anyway so what harm can it do?" _

Bridge was fighting the urge to give into the voice, but he was so tired, and in so much pain. He did not even mean to let go, but he did, and the next thing he knew he was drifting off to sleep. For the first time in a while, Bridge had a peaceful night's rest. When morning hit, Bridge was still asleep when the alarms rang.

"Ranger's to the Command Center_."_

"Come, on sleeping beauty, time to get up." Sky shook Bridge.

The Green Ranger groaned and rolled out of bed. He shook the sleep out of his eyes, grabbed his jacket and followed Sky to the Control Room.

"Cadets, there has been a breach in our academy. Last night our systems were hacked, and confiscated items were stolen." Commander Crueger addressed the team.

"Sir, was there anything of great importance stolen?" Jack stepped forward.

"Mostly weapons; Dr. Manx is going through all of the inventory now to find out exactly what has gone missing. Not much was stolen, which leads me to believe this was a one man job, however this is not to be taken lightly. This person is intelligent and knew how to hack into the security system. We must locate this perpetrator at once!"

"Yes sir!" The Rangers all saluted and began coming up with a strategy to catch the person responsible.

Bridge went straight to the computer to see if he could override anything done from the night before. Z came over to help him.

"Any luck?"

"No, whoever did this wiped all the security footage completely, not even a trace of a junk file was left." Bridge continued to type. "Huh, that's weird."

"What is it?" Z was not sure what Bridge had found.

"It doesn't look like they hacked into any of the access codes. They would have needed those to get into evidence."

Z looked worried. "Do you think it was someone inside S.P.D.?"

Bridge shrugged a little. "They could have covered their tracks really well, but yeah, that is a very high possibility."

Z left Bridge's side to tell the others it could be an inside job. The team decided to start talking to anyone that could have had access to the evidence lock up. Bridge continued to search on the computer noticing a few things that made him begin to worry. Once he could not look any further he left the Command Center and went into a bathroom.

"_Edward…Edward I need to talk to you." _ Bridge shut his eyes and concentrated.

"_Well, well, I was wondering how long it would take for you to contact me." _

"_Please tell me you, or actually me, was not the one to hack into the S.P.D. system last night?" _

There was silence for a moment. _"And if I had?" _

"_No, no, no, no, no, this is not happening. You cannot have control of mind. I went to sleep last night, and then…" _

Bridge could hear laughing.

"_I won't let you get away with whatever you are planning. You aren't real. You are just in my head. I'm in control." _

"_Are you Green? We'll see." _

Bridge leaned against the sink not sure what to do. He was in over his head. Once Bridge caught back up with the team, he found that they had come up empty with their investigation. They had decided to take to the streets to see if anyone had seen anything suspicious. While everyone else took off to investigate any leads they could find, Bridge managed to go off on his own. The longer he walked, the more angry he became.

"_I can't believe you did this. This is my body, not yours, you can't just have control of me whenever you feel like it. You need to tell me what you took and where you went…or where I went." _

"_If want me to stop being in your head then make me…unless you don't want to." _

Bridge continued walking, having the argument in his head. "_What's that supposed to mean?" _

"_I'm helping you." _

Bridge could not believe what he was hearing. _"How could you possibly be helping?" _

Edward laughed. _"You are seeing clearer with me in your head; less questioning of right and wrong, and more action." _

"_You aren't helping me." _

"_You're stronger with me in your head." _

Bridge laughed out loud, which would make him seem even crazier if anyone had been walking by. _"You've been messing with my head. Controlling me, that is not making me stronger. You are nothing but a pain." _

"_Everyone underestimates you Bridge. I did most of all. Just when I thought I had you, you broke through everything; got inside my head, and killed me, all with your mind. But you saw everything in my head, and now I'm in yours. Almost as if my subconscious got downloaded right into yours. Together we could be great. I craved power, I wanted to rival Gruumm, but with my thoughts and your strength the Universe could be ours." _

"_I don't want to rival Gruumm, I don't want power. That was always you." _

"_No, but you want to do good don't you? Uphold the law and protect the citizens." _

Bridge leaned against a wall, this conversation was getting to him.

"_What if you could bring down someone you've been after for years? Someone you can never gather enough evidence on to arrest." _

He knew exactly who Edward was talking about. At first Bridge wondered how he could have known, but then he realized that he could see all of his thoughts as well. Bridge no longer had any secrets.

"_Basta." _

"_The mob boss you and your little team have been trying to catch. He's smart, but he's also an arms dealer. Usually has others do his bidding, so when S.P.D. come sniffing around he is innocent. Let me help you bring him down." _

Bridge was getting tired of this.

"_Reach into your pocket." _

The feeling in the pit of Bridge's stomach grew as he put his hand in his pocket and felt a small hard object. He pulled it out to see some type of red crystal. _"This is something you stole, well actually that I stole, from the evidence lock up, isn't it?" _

"_Indeed it is, but now it's your ticket to throw the others off of our scent, and bring down your man. This crystal is extremely rare and can power a very dangerous weapon." _

"_I'm not planting this on Basta." _

"_No, you aren't going to plant it, you're going to make him believe he stole it. You are going to rewrite history." _

Bridge realized what Edward wanted him to do, and he realized he was not convinced it was an awful plan. Bridge held the crystal in his hand, trying to decide if he should turn it in, or take it to one of the most notorious criminals in New Tech City.

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**AN: Thanks for reading! **


	4. Overwhelmed

**Thank you Adrianna Agray and StyxxsOmega for reviewing! **

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Part of Bridge could not believe what he was doing, but the other part thought he was making a difference. The Green Ranger marched into the bar that Basta owned and made his way to the table the alien was occupying. He put both hands on the table and looked Basta in the eyes.

"S.P.D., to what do I owe this pleasure? Come to accuse me of something I didn't do again?"

"There was a break-in at the base last night. Weapons were stolen, and this." Bridge slid the red crystal across the table.

"What is this?"

Bridge took off his gloves and continued looking Basta in the eye. "You took this. You sent one of your guys into S.P.D. to steal some weapons, this crystal included, but you won't let this out of your sight. You need to sell it, so you'll be looking for a buyer as soon as possible."

Basta stared at the Green Ranger, he said nothing as he reached over and took the crystal. Bridge knew what he was doing worked. He was making Basta believe everything he was saying to be true. Part one of his plan was complete, now he just needed to lead the others there. He knew the rest of the team was surveying the area looking for any leads to the break-in, so Bridge made his way back to S.P.D. where he saw Syd talking to citizens near the base. Bridge knew there was a homeless woman named Yara who normally stuck close to the academy. She would be the perfect person for what he needed. Just as Bridge thought, Yara was just down the street from the base. Bridge made his way up to her.

"Hey Yara, how are you today?"

The woman smiled at Bridge, he had always been kind to her. "Oh I'm doing just fine. Weather is nice today."

Bridge smiled back, but took his glove off and held two fingers up to his temple. He planted a memory in Yara's mind, and once he was done he continued the conversation as if nothing had happened.

"We are having nice weather, have a good day Yara."

"Thanks dear, you too."

He left, making sure no one at S.P.D. saw him. Now all Bridge needed to do was wait for the pieces to fall together.

"_My, that was impressive." _

Bridge groaned at the voice getting louder in his head. _"Shut up."_

"_But look at what you are accomplishing. You are using powers like you never had before." _

"_I'm only doing it to fix what you started. I would never do this if it weren't for what you pulled." _

It did not take long for everything to fall into place. Not even ten minutes after Bridge spoke to Yara did Syd call over the com-links to get everyone back to the Command Center. They all gathered together to hear what lead Syd had gotten, and Bridge hoped that everything that was about to happen would not put any suspicion onto him.

"What'd you find out Syd?" Jack stood at the center computer of the room facing the others who were also stood around it.

"You know that homeless woman that usually hangs out around S.P.D.?"

Z nodded. "Yeah, her name is Yara right?"

"Yeah, that's the one. She says last night she was by one of the fountains when she saw someone waiting out front. Then she said not long after another man came out with a bag, but handed him something red."

"Did she get a good look at these guys?" Sky was hoping this would turn out to be enough information for what they needed.

"She didn't get a great look at the guy with the bag, said he had a hood up, but he looked human. The other man though, she said looked like he was part alien because he had a slight greenish tint to his skin, and yellow eyes, tall with dark hair and wearing a suit. Does that description sound familiar to anyone?"

"Basta, the mob boss?" Jack could not believe what he was hearing.

"But why here?" Sky was not sure he was buying it either.

Z thought for a moment. "Well he is an arms dealer and weapons were stolen, but why now? We haven't been able to pin anything on him before."

Syd looked at Kat. "Do we know what that red thing could have been that Yara saw?"

Kat looked at the tablet in her hand. "Yes, in fact it is a Rovarion crystal that can be weaponized. It's extremely rare, very powerful, and was confiscated by A Squad just before their disappearance."

"That could explain why now. I bet that crystal would get him a hefty amount if he sold it." Jack became worried.

"We have to figure out when this buy is going down, if this crystal gets in the hands of Gruumm we could all be doomed." Sky too worried about what would happen if they did not catch Basta.

"Okay, we have to figure out who the buyer is, and where this will go down. Bridge and Z, stay here and see if you can find anything out on the computers, while Sky, Syd, and I go survey the city and look for anything out of the ordinary." Jack gave the orders and the others rushed to try and stop the buy from going down.

Bridge hopped over to a computer and began looking for a place Basta could go to sell the crystal. _"You really thought of everything on this didn't you?" _

"_I'm disappointed in you Carson. I thought you would have known that about me by now. I think of everything…well almost everything. I could outsmart everyone that came into my path, all except for you." _

"_I don't like this. Basta shouldn't be going down this way, we should catch him at something he really did, not something I did." _

"_You changed what happened. He thinks he did do it, so why not let him stay thinking that? You will catch him, and no one will know what we did." _

Bridge continued typing on the computer, trying not to show signs of the conversation going on in his head. "_I'm still not sure exactly what you did, and you won't tell me, if you are going to be in my head, then I deserve to know what you are planning." _

"_In time, Green, now go find your man." _

Eventually Jack, Sky, and Syd caught wind of a possible buy going on. They knew what sector of the city it was going to be happening, so now all Bridge and Z needed to do was find a location that it would probably happen in.

"Here!" Bridge pulled up a site, and Z came over to look.

"The iron factory?"

"It's undergoing construction right now so the entire back half of the building is closed off. No one would be suspicious of people being around there since the other half of the building is functioning, and it's secluded enough that no one should walk in on them. It would be a perfect place to sell this crystal off to someone, or someones."

"Nice job Bridge, let's go meet up with the others."

Bridge put his sunglasses on before going outside, he was doing better, but still a little sensitive to the light. After he and Z met up with the others they headed to the factory, and sure enough they saw Basta's men at the back entrance. The team got out their surveillance equipment and scanned the building. There was a high amount of Rovarian energy, which must have been from the crystal. The team found another entrance and made their way to the back of the factory where the buy was taking place. Basta and another alien stood in the center of a room, each having four guards behind them. The Rangers knew they would be able to take them out, so they made their presence known.

"Freeze! S.P.D.!" Jack yelled, and the team aimed their blasters at the group before them.

The guards ran at the rangers and they fought them. Sky noticed that Basta and the other alien were trying to get away, so he ran after Basta and yelled for Jack to go after the other alien. Sky jumped over a table and leapt onto Basta dragging him down to the ground, while Jack shot the other alien in the leg causing him to fall. Both rangers put handcuffs on the criminal they had just caught and looked to see how the others were doing. Bridge, Syd, and Z had each taken down a guard on their own, and were now all fighting the other five together. Syd used her powers to have iron firsts that knocked a rafter onto two of the men, while Z had replicated to make the fight a little more even and took down two more, and Bridge was using all his will not to use his abilities in the fight, and instead used his arms and legs. He swooped the last guard with his leg and pinned the man down so Z and Syd could come cuff him. Everything began and ended quickly, and soon Jack was holding the crystal the alien had in his possession. Just before they carded Basta he stared at Bridge as if he wanted to say something to him, but could not get the words out. The exchanged look was not enough for anyone to question so, the team carded everyone involved and headed back to S.P.D. to relay the events to Commander Crueger.

"This is a triumphant day Rangers. The criminal Basta was arrested and charged with breaking into S.P.D., theft, and the illegal selling of weapons. You all did an admiral job in keeping the city safe, but we must remember that there are still weapons missing from S.P.D. that have yet to be discovered. We believe that Basta left the weapons with the man who broke in and entrusted him with the selling of these items. Please continue to be on a lookout for this, but again job well done Rangers. Dismissed." Crueger nodded proudly at his team.

The Rangers were all excited that they had finally caught Basta. They knew they still had a lot of work to do, but for now they had triumphed over a large criminal in New Tech City. Each Ranger saluted and left the Command Center to take a break after a long and exciting day.

Bridge could not share in the joy of the other Rangers not after what he had done. Instead he faked a small smile and made his way to the cafeteria where he began making a large stack of buttery toast. The more overwhelming things got for Bridge, the more he tended to eat. As Bridge began to make progress with his toast, Sky walked by the cafeteria and noticed the Green Ranger alone. He walked in the room and sat down across from his friend.

"Hey Sky, want any toast?"

Sky shook his head. "No, I'm good, thanks."

Bridge continued eating.

"How are you?" Sky's voice was soft.

"I feel like that's all you ask me anymore."

"Sorry, just we took down one of the most notorious criminals in our database today and you don't seem that thrilled about it."

Bridge shrugged. "I guess I'm just still having a tough time. I'm feeling better, but…"

"_Don't even think about it Greenie." _

"But?"

Bridge stared at Sky for a moment. "Just, not getting back to my old self fast enough."

Sky tapped the table a little bit. "You, uh, still sensing everyone with your gloves on?"

Bridge looked at his hands. "It's not happening all at once anymore, but if I concentrate then yeah I can still feel and hear almost everything that's going on. It's not a bad thing though, it's just different. Going to take some adapting."

"Bridge you made me promise you that if you started acting weird, not like yourself, I would do something about it. And honestly, Bridge, you've been off for a while. At first I just thought you needed time to recover after everything. I thought that if something was wrong you would tell us, but the more I've been watching you, the more I realized that if something really is wrong, maybe you wouldn't say anything, because maybe you can't help it. I want to believe that you are going to be okay, but something isn't right, so I want to ask you first, is there anything going on that you want to tell me?"

"_Damn he's good." _Bridge ignored Edward's comments and tried to think of something to say.

"I'm not keeping anything from you. I'm just feeling a little lost after everything. I have a lot on my mind right now, with new abilities and what I did…" Bridge knew Sky would think he was talking about killing Edward, but actually he was thinking about more recent events.

Sky did not look satisfied, but accepted the answer. "Okay, but if you need to talk about anything, absolutely anything, then you can talk to me. Even if you just want to ramble my head off, I'll be there. Remember who your friends are Bridge."

"I will, thanks."

Sky got up and left the cafeteria. Bridge looked down at his toast, knowing Edward would not keep his mouth shut for long.

"_He's onto us. He's going to ruin everything, We need to take care of him." _

"_I'm not hurting Sky. I'm not hurting anyone. Whatever you are planning you can forget it. I'm not doing anything else your way. I'm done." _

Bridge got up knowing that he could not walk away from Edward, but hoped the gesture would get his point across. Unfortunately for Bridge, Edwards mind had been working its way deep into his own, and as soon as Bridge turned down an empty corridor bright lights flashed across his eyes. Bridge fell to the ground and shut his eyes, but the light did not go away.

"What are you doing?" Bridge spoke aloud not caring if anyone heard.

"_Taking control." _

Bridge was getting trapped in his own subconscious; back in the contraption he had been tortured in. Back to the bright lights and buzzing. Bridge was losing control of his mind, and Edward's thoughts were taking over. Soon Bridge would have no control over himself, and Edward would have access to all of his power.

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**AN: Thanks for reading! **


	5. Taken

**Thank you Adrianna Agray, wrestlechick93, and StyxxsOmega for reviewing! **

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Sky had not expected to be woken up in the middle of the night by Bridge, but at 2am he was being shaken awake by his roommate. Sky groaned and rolled over, turning on his lamp. He looked at the Green Ranger in confusion.

"Bridge, what are you doing? Everything okay?" Sky sat up, adjusting to the light.

Bridge stared down at Sky. "You were right. There is something going on with me, I'm sorry it's so late, but I need to talk to you…well actually I need to show you something."

Sky looked at the clock and saw the time, but wanted to be a good friend, so he got out of bed and got dressed. "What is it?"

"I did something, something I shouldn't have done, and now I don't know what to do, but it's hard to explain, so it would just be easier if you came with me, but it is kind of far." Bridge began to leave the room, giving Sky almost no choice in following.

Both Rangers got on their cycles with Bridge leading the way. Sky had no idea where they were going, but he wanted to help his friend, so he did not stop to let anyone know what they were doing. They got to the edge of town when Bridge stopped in front of a building. It did not look like it was in function, but was not run down. Bridge went inside, and Sky realized that the building was some kind of laboratory.

"Bridge, what are we doing here?"

Bridge ignored the question and began looking around the room. "Kind of familiar isn't it? Not that long ago we were walking into a quiet building like this one, right before we were ambushed."

Before Sky could say anything else, Bridge tased him in the neck, causing Sky to fall to the ground. He looked up at his friend in confusion and betrayal, but the face that stared down on him did not seem like the Bridge he knew.

"This is going to be fun." Bridge smiled as Sky's eyes drifted shut.

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The sun was just rising when the alarms went off. Gruumm had sent a new monster to attack the city. Jack, Syd, and Z all ran into the Common Room to morph and get downtown. The three Rangers immediately noticed the absence of their two friends.

"Where's Bridge and Sky?" Z asked before they morphed.

Jack looked at their door, but knew they needed to get take care of the monster. "We'll figure that out later, let's go. S.P.D. Emergency!"

Z and Syd morphed and followed Jack to fight the monster. They were able to handle the monster just fine, but it did get away in the end. The Rangers knew that would not be the last time they had to deal with it. By the time they got back to the academy, Jack was a little more than angry at Bridge and Sky for not joining the fight. He needed to know what was going on, so he stomped to their room and barged in. When he found it empty, Jack began to search the base looking for either ranger. After almost an hour of searching, Jack could not find the Green or Blue Ranger. He decided to make his way back to the Command Center to ask if anyone had seen them. Jack walked into the room and went up to Kat who was working on one of the computers.

"Hey Kat, have Sky or Bridge checked in at all today?"

Kat gave him an odd look. "They haven't reported in?"

Jack shook his head. "Alarms went off this morning, we all went, but they weren't there. When we got back I looked for them, but haven't been able to find them. You think everything is okay?"

"It's not like either of them to ignore an alarm." Kat began to check their morphers on the computer to see where they were.

Jack saw the look on Kat's face. "What is it?"

"Their morphers are offline." She looked at him with growing concern.

"Can you pull up the cameras from last night? See where they went?"

Kat nodded and got to work.

Before Kat could get the footage pulled up, Syd and Z entered the room and could tell something was off.

"What's up Jack?" Z walked up to him.

"Bridge and Sky are missing, their morphers are offline, and we have no idea where they went. Kat's pulling up the camera footage from last night now."

Syd looked worried. "I don't like this. Where would they have gone?"

"I don't know." Jack shook his head.

"Maybe they just needed a break? They went through a lot with that Edward guy and now that things have started to get back to routine they might feel like we all expect them to just be back in it with no problems. They may just need a breather for little while." Z did not believe her own words, but she was hopeful.

Jack looked skeptical. "I don't know. Sky has been fine for the most part, stressed sure, but still doing his duties, and I've been training with Bridge and I thought it was helping. Besides even if they did need a break, I don't think they would go off the grid, not if we needed them."

The team knew that was the truth. They all began to think of more theories as to where the other two Rangers could be when Kat found the footage from when they left the night before.

"Here." Kat pulled up the video and the team gathered in.

"Looks like Bridge is leading." Z watched as Bridge and Sky left their room.

"They get on their cycles and head west, but seem to miss a lot of the cameras. After they turn down this corner we lose them." Kat was watching as the two seemed miss every important angle on the security footage and then avoid them completely.

"Do you think they did that on purpose?" Syd had a feeling she knew the answer to that.

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Sky woke up to a very familiar feeling of his head pounding. When he went to reach up to touch his head, he found he was unable. Now he had another familiar feeling of being tied to a chair. The Blue Ranger opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a small dark room, with no windows. The entire situation felt just like the hostage situation not long ago, but Sky knew that the person behind that was dead. Sky thought back to what he remembered last; Bridge had dragged him out of bed to show him something. They went to an old building, and then they were attacked. Sky realized attacked may not be the best word considering he did not remember anyone else there. All he remembered was Bridge. Bridge standing over him before he passed out. Sky did not want to believe that the Green Ranger was responsible for any of this, but that was the only explanation to what was happening.

"Bridge! Bridge! Where are you?" Sky yelled, almost hoping Bridge would not walk through the door.

Of course, it was exactly who Sky thought. "Hey Blue, looks like we get to do this dance again don't we."

Bridge was smiling at Sky, but Sky knew this was not the friend he knew. "What is this? What's going on?"

Bridge walked around the chair as Sky struggled against the ropes. "I think you know exactly what's going on."

Sky shook his head. "No, no this isn't possible. Edward is dead, you aren't him."

"You see that's where it gets a little tricky." Bridge stopped in front of Sky and leaned in.

"Bridge killed him, and Bridge is who I'm looking at, so you aren't Edward."

"You're right, technically at least. Bridge did kill me, but to do that he had to get inside my head and see every memory, thought, and idea. Then he had to break it apart to break me apart, my body died, but he in a way absorbed all of my thoughts as if they really exist deep in his head. So now my mind is very much alive."

"If Bridge was able to get in your mind once, how do you have control now?" Sky was trying to make sense of everything.

"Because I'm better. I won this time, and now I've locked Bridge right where I left him; tied up with lights too bright to see. I have control of this body now, and my how powerful he is."

Sky glared. "What's your plan in all this?"

Bridge leaned back. "I thought you'd figure that out by now."

"Besides talking so much? I'm honestly not completely sure."

Bridge laughed. "You didn't think Basta was actually stupid enough to break into S.P.D. did you?"

"You stole those weapons? Then how did Basta have that crystal?"

"Bridge was a busy boy today. He got into Basta's head, made him believe he stole from the weapons lockup, then got into that homeless woman's head and made her believe she saw the whole thing, all without any of you noticing; and no one involved being none the wiser. He really is remarkable; just needed a little push from me was all."

Sky shook his head, trying to see his friend through the evil that was Edward. "So what, I was starting to ask too many questions?"

Bridge clapped his hands together. "That's exactly right! Good ole best friend Blue, always trying to look out for him. Too bad it took you this long though, but in your defense Bridge had been hiding it very well. But now we get to play like old times, I get to beat you senseless, really just for the fun of it, and you have to watch knowing there is nothing you can do for your friend."

Sky struggled more against the ropes, but it was no use. He hated how his mind went back to the hostage situation where this had all started, only this time instead of Edward's men, it was Bridge hitting him over and over again. Bridge, his best friend, who had no control of what he was doing. Sky just hoped they would both get out of this alive.

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Back at the base, the team was trying to figure out a way to locate Bridge and Sky. None of them were having any luck, and none of them knew what caused the two to leave in the middle of the night. While they were searching on the computers, a cadet came in and walked up to Kat holding a tablet.

"Miss Manx, here is the finalized item list you asked for."

Kat took the tablet. "Thank you Cadet."

No one noticed what Kat had until she spoke again.

"That's odd."

The Rangers all looked up and came over to Kat.

"What's up, Kat?" Z could see the confusion on the doctor's face.

"I've finally received a full list of everything stolen from the evidence room. Weapons, some chemicals, but there is something else."

"What is it?" Syd shared Kat's confusion.

"The neck restraint used by Edward Wiesel when he took Bridge."

"Why would Basta take that?" Jack did not get it either.

Kat stared at the tablet perplexed. "I have no idea."

"Can I see that?" Syd reached for the tablet.

Kat handed it over, and the Pink Ranger began to read over the list. "Some of these weapons and chemicals sound like things Edward would have wanted. I think we're missing something big here."

Z thought for a moment. "Guys, how much do we really know about Bridge's abilities?"

"Besides the fact that they are getting stronger? Not a whole lot." Jack shrugged.

"I really don't think any of us can pretend we know how he works, only Bridge gets Bridge." Syd agreed with Jack.

"Kat?" Z looked at her.

"I understand the chemistry of it, he senses energy, can see it. All of it has to do with his molecular structure just like all of your abilities, but how exactly and what exactly he can do…well it's rather complicated. I know when he killed Edward he had to get inside his mind, which was something we did not know he could do. His limitations may be endless, we aren't sure."

"So Bridge feeds off energy right? You all must have noticed before, if all of our emotions sway a certain way, his seems to almost absorb it. What if he absorbed what Edward was feeling?" Z was trying to piece it all together.

"If Bridge is behind this, then what does Basta have to do with it all? It doesn't make sense." Jack felt lost. They all did.

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**AN: Thanks for reading! **


	6. Plans

**Thank you Adrianna Agray, StyxxsOmega, and wrestlechick93 for reviewing! **

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Blood was dripping onto the floor. Just like the last time he was in this situation, Sky stayed conscious through the entire beating. He could not face the Green Ranger, he could not look at him while he was punching him over and over again. Sky did not want see his friend like that; he knew Bridge had no control, and did not want to remember the look on his face while someone had control over his body.

"Wooo! That was fun." Bridge let out a long breath and shook his right hand. "I guess I really did a number on your ranger…that hurt, but you know all about the pain I caused him don't you? You're the one that had to unscrew my handy work from each limb weren't you? You have nightmares, you blame yourself."

"Shut up, you don't get to be in his memories like that, not after what you did."

"There's that passion I remember, such loyalty for your friends. You'd do anything to save him wouldn't you?"

Sky finally looked up, glaring at the man wearing Bridge's face. "What's the point of all this?"

"Oh, this? The beatings you mean?" Bridge shrugged. "Besides the fact that I'm just enjoying myself, and I want to cause as much damage to Green as possible, I'm stalling."

Sky was confused. "Stalling for what?"

"The other day we were all fighting that monster, the one that Bridge just happened to get carded before he had time to jump into a big robot. You saw the pause in the fight, I know you did clever one."

"So?"

"So, Bridge was getting into the monster's head. Stopped him from moving, and started to go deep into his mind, and wow that guy was a great General. He had so many battle plans, some of which I've decided to take for myself. I've always wanted power, and now that I have a willing host that is more powerful than…well really anything else, I can go against Gruumm and take this planet for myself."

"You'll kill Bridge trying to do that."

Bridge just shrugged. "We'll see won't we?"

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"Let me talk to Basta." Z looked at Commander Crueger.

"Cadet Delgado?"

"None of this makes sense right now, but he was the one to break into here, so I want to talk to him, figure out exactly what he knows so we can start straightening this out."

Crueger thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright, see what you can find out."

Z waited for the guards to bring Basta into an interrogation room. Once they did, she entered and sat down across from the criminal.

"I don't get it." Z crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "You've managed to weasel out of S.P.D's fingertips for a while, but then you decide to break in just to steal a few weapons?"

Basta shrugged. "I guess I was pushing my luck. You had the crystal, I needed it."

"Then why the other stuff?"

"I was already sending a guy in, might as well get him to take whatever he could carry."

"So where are all the other weapons?"

Basta smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Yeah, I would like to know. As a matter of fact, I want to know every detail of how you got a guy in S.P.D. undetected." Z eyed the man trying to get something out of him.

Basta stayed silent.

"We already caught you in the act, so there's no harm in you telling me more about that night. Speaking of that night, where were you before you came here?"

"At my bar." Basta rolled his eyes and decided to go on. "I had been planning this for a while was meeting my guy there, the one I sent in to steal your stuff."

"So how did you find out about the crystal?"

"I have my messengers; they keep me up to date on any and all valuable transactions."

"Okay, so you're at the bar, talking with your guy and you decide to tag along to our base instead of sending another lackey, because?" Z shrugged.

Basta stared at her for a moment. "Because I wanted to make sure it got done right."

"Yeah, but you've always trusted your guys with your dirty work before, that's why we've never been able to catch you. So this time was different, why?"

Basta shrugged. "It just was."

"But that crystal is powerful sure, but if you trusted someone to break in to our facility, which is surrounded by cameras and guards and cadets, why not just let him bring it back to your bar himself. Why be outside waiting?"

Z noticed the sweat beginning to bead on Basta's head.

"Unless there is something you aren't telling me." Z kept prodding.

"Listen here, I knew what I was doing, so I don't need you accusing me of something else."

Z shook her head. "Not accusing you of anything else, just want to know why you came here yourself."

Basta seemed confused at this question. He pinched the bridge of his nose, the frustration clear on his face. Z watched him as he struggled with himself over the very simple question. Then something happened that worried her. Blood began to drip out of Basta's nose, and he seemed like he was in pain at the memories. Z got up and sent a medic in to check on him while she went back to talk to the rest of the team who had been watching from the other room.

"What was that all about?" Syd asked as Z walked in.

Z sighed. "Nothing good, he can't talk about why he was here that night, because he wasn't here that night."

"What do you mean? He says he was, not to mention the witness." Jack was not following.

"No, they only thought Basta was here. Someone put those memories in their heads, and I think we all know there is only one person capable of doing that." Z's face darkened.

"You think Bridge did this? Can he even do something like that?" Jack was not sure if he could believe her.

"He did get in Edwards head to kill him. It's really not that unbelievable that he could get into other people's heads and plant a false memory." Syd realized that Bridge really could be behind this.

"This is Bridge we're talking about here, he would never do that." Jack did not want to believe it.

"Bridge wouldn't no, but what if he somehow absorbed some of Edward's feelings? Maybe he's doing these things because he has been swayed by what that creep was thinking. We all saw what he did to Bridge. He was a very disturbed and bad person. Bridge could just be getting some of the residual energy off of him after being in his mind." Z felt like her theory may be out there, but she also felt like she was onto something.

"If Bridge is thinking like that guy, then Sky could be in real trouble. He may have taken that collar to try and use it on him. We need to figure out where they could be." Jack was really starting to worry about his teammates.

Syd bit her lip. "Okay, but where do we start? Bridge and Sky disappeared from the security cameras, and their morphers are offline. We don't have a way to track them. Where would Bridge take them?"

Z shook her head. "It's not where Bridge would take them, it's where Edward would."

"So we go back to the three places we know Edward has been." Jack knew it would not be that easy.

"It's worth a shot, we don't have any other leads besides that." Z shrugged.

"I want to say split up, but if this is some kind of trap then we could all be in a lot more danger." Jack did not want to waste time that Sky or Bridge did not have.

"We can turn on the body cams in your suits, that way if something catches any of you by surprise it will alert the rest of us." Kat knew sending them by themselves was risky, but she knew time was precious as well.

"Good idea." Jack nodded. "Okay, Syd why don't you go to the hostage building, Z head to the medical facility, and I'll check out the basement."

Z gave him a look. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it'll be alright." Jack knew that was the most likely place for Bridge to be, but he hated to think what he could walk into.

"Rangers be careful, and remember although Bridge is still a Ranger, he may not be in his right mind. Do want you must to bring him and Sky in safely."

"Yes sir!" The Rangers saluted and ran out of the Command Center.

The three split up and headed to their assigned place to search for their lost friends. Syd went to the building where everything started. She remembered how lost they felt that day, sitting just yards away from her friend, unable to help him.. If it were not for Bridge, that day could have gone a lot differently for everyone involved. Syd approached the building with extreme caution, knowing a trap could be lying in wait for her. As she moved in the building, she checked every corner for signs of anyone or anything. She had only entered the building briefly when she realized she was on her own, and now she could feel the empty eeriness inside the large place. She made her way up the stairs and into the room she assumed Bridge had been kept in when they were taken. He had described it to the team, all Syd could think about was how close he and Sky were to dying in that place. Syd found no signs of anything new, so she made her way down the hall and found the room Sky had been kept. The chair he had been tied to was still in the middle of the room, and the ropes were still on the ground. Syd found nothing helpful in the entire building so she moved on.

Z had made her way into the laboratory they had so hoped to find Bridge at the first time around. Instead they found the dead doctor Jackson. Most of the things out of the lab were taken back to S.P.D. since it had been a crime scene, and most of the chemicals there were extremely hazardous. There was not much to look at after they had cleared the place, but Z did find a few papers strung around the room. She began to look through them in hopes of finding a clue to Bridge and Sky's whereabouts.

While Z and Syd were out searching the places they were assigned, Jack made his way to the underground room Edward had tortured Bridge in. He hated the thought of going back there, but he hoped that maybe that was where the two missing rangers were. When he opened the door to the big room, Jack searched for the lights and turned them on. Empty. There was no sign of anyone since they had rescued Bridge. Jack still decided to check the place out just in case, so he walked up to, what was left of the contraption created by Edward. Jack made sure to step around the blood stain still on the floor. There was still broken glass everywhere from the lights, some had been picked up by the crime unit when they retrieved Edward's body, but some still remained.

Jack stared out at the room from in front of the contraption. He could only imagine what it was like for Bridge while he was being kept there. When the Rangers got him out of there, Jack had processed so much in such a short time, he did not get a chance to really get a sense of that place. The fear that must have been coursing through the Green Ranger was strong; Jack did not have to have Bridge's abilities to feel that. If he really did somehow get taken over by Edward, then Bridge was extremely dangerous right now. If Edward was capable of pulling off everything he did, then they could all be in a lot of trouble. He shook his head, not wanting to think about the events that took place in that room not long ago. He did not want to think how one life was ended, while the other was changed forever. Jack did not want to believe his friend was capable of such horrors, or did he want to believe that the same horrors that happened to him, could be happening to Sky. The longer Jack stayed in there, the more he wanted to leave. He needed to get back to the base so they could find their friends, he had a feeling time was running out.

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**AN: Thanks for reading! **


	7. Help

**Thank you Adrianna Agray, StyxxsOmega, and wrestlechick93 for reviewing! **

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"Okay, we know Edward was smart, but this isn't just him, let's not forget that." Jack rubbed his temples feeling like their time was running out. They needed to find Bridge and Sky before something terrible happened, but they could not find any trace of them.

"Then where would Bridge go, if he thought like Edward, but was still Bridge?" Syd almost confused herself saying that.

"Somewhere secluded, probably underground, or an abandoned building." Z wracked her brain. "When we were looking for Bridge before, we searched everything that could have possibly connected Edward to a property."

"So we are back to square one?" Jack felt like they were going in circles now.

Syd shook her head. "We can't give up. If we have to look into every property in the city, then we will. We have to find them."

The other two nodded, both hoping that if it came to that they would not run out of time.

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Sky was struggling to stay conscious. Bridge, or actually Edward, had been beating him for what felt like hours. There was not a part of him that did not feel pain, but what hurt the most was seeing his best friend doing the beating. Sky managed to lift his head up and look him in the eye.

Bridge rubbed his knuckles. "Maybe I should lighten up, my hands are starting to hurt."

"I know you're in there Bridge. Somewhere in there and I think you can hear me. I helped you out of that place once, I can do it again."

Bridge laughed. "He can't hear you right now Sky, too much is going on in his head right now. It is a nice try though, but I'm not giving up control that easily."

Sky lowered his head again, but he was not giving up like it looked. Instead, Sky was trying to contact Bridge, the same way he was contacted before; through his mind. Sky just hoped he could reach Bridge's mind without tipping off Edward. If he could get to his best friend, then maybe they had a chance.

"_Come on Bridge, you have to be in there somewhere. It's Sky…please say you can hear me, come on buddy, I know you can." _

The lights were too bright, the pain unbearable. Bridge was trapped just like before; strapped up to an electric device that dug into his wrists, ankles, and neck. Anytime he tried to open his eyes he was met with the blinding lights in front of him. The heat from the lamps caused him to sweat as the buzzing they gave off invaded his ears. There was nothing he could do, no way out, no way to use his abilities. As horrible as the situation was, Bridge knew that he had been in it before. He knew that this had already happened, and he knew it was all going on in his head. Knowing all that did not change how real it all felt. Bridge had no control over anything, that was all Edward now.

"_Come on Bridge." _

The faintest whisper could be heard in Bridge's mind. The voice did not belong to the person he had been listening to for so long, no that voice came from someone else. Bridge realized Sky was trying to talk to him. Sky was nearby, and he was trying to help. He needed to see what was going on, he needed to know what Edward was doing. Bridge ignored the pain and concentrated. If he could just push past Edward's hold on him, he would be able to catch a glimpse of the world around him, the real world.

At first all Bridge could see were the bright lights, but then he began to see flashes in front of him. He saw a dark room, it was empty and reminded him of the office building where the hostage situation took place. Lights again. The world faded back in and then Bridge saw Sky tied to a chair and bleeding. He saw his hands hitting him over and over again, and then Bridge realized Edward took him. Edward was hurting his best friend, and worst of all he was doing it with his body. Bridge could not watch this, he could not see his friend be hurt. He needed to get out and do something.

Silence filled the air which caused Sky to look up at the man in front of him. Edward talked almost nonstop, but now the man just stared at him. Sky was not sure what was happening, but he noticed a change in him, almost as if he were fighting to stay conscious. Bridge's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he twitched a little; a small trickle of blood began to run out of his nose. He gasped for air as he fell down to his knees. Sky leaned forward and the Green Ranger shot up and began untying him.

"Bridge?"

"I don't have much time, I can only hold him off for a second." Bridge frantically undid the ropes holding Sky down.

"Bridge, you can fight him, let me help you."

Bridge shook his head. "He's in deep right now, I can't keep him in my subconscious for long."

Once the ropes were undone, Sky fell out of the chair a little, grabbing Bridge's arms.

Bridge helped Sky to the door. "You have to go, you have to get out of here. If you stay he might kill you."

"Come with me, we'll figure this out." Sky did not understand why Bridge was pushing him away.

"No, he's too dangerous. Sky what he's planning, with my power I don't know what will happen, but you have to do everything you possibly can to stop me. Do you understand? Whatever you have to do, do it. Don't let me destroy this city. Please Sky. Now go!" Bridge shoved Sky out of the room and shut the door.

Sky wanted to stay, but he could tell Bridge was losing control over his mind. Edward would take back over soon and in his weakened state, Sky would not be able to fight him. Sky had to get back to the base, he had to get to the others and figure out a way to help Bridge.

Bridge slid down the door and tried to hold off Edward's mind for as long as he could.

"_Now, now, now that was against the rules. It's my turn to play Green, not yours. You've wasted this body, this power, and now I am going to put it to good use. Time to go back." _

Bridge fought the man's invasion, but soon enough he felt jolts of electricity surging through him and he was back in the contraption that made him almost powerless. He just hoped he gave Sky enough to time to get away. If the others were safe, then he did not care what happened to him.

Sky stumbled out of the laboratory through a side door, just barely able to stand. He was in a lot of pain from his multiple beatings, but he knew he had to get back. After gaining his bearings, Sky realized he was in an alley, and out of the corner of his eye he spotted the bottom of a tire. Sky used the wall to help him over to the object under a large grey tarp. Sky ripped off the tarp and found his and Bridge's cycles. A sense of relief rushed him as he got on his bike and headed to where he hoped was S.P.D. He was trying to remember from when he followed Bridge there, but it was dark and a minor concussion ago. All Sky knew was that they had driven to the edge of town, so now all he could do was hope he could get there fast enough that they could send help for Bridge.

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The three remaining Rangers in the Control Room were feeling more lost and down than ever. They had no clues to the whereabouts of their fellow Rangers, as well as no idea what truly was going on with Bridge. All they knew was that their friends were in trouble and they had no idea if they were okay or not. Z was leaning on her chair, not really doing much of anything. She was staring at a computer monitor, but not really looking at it, when something caught her attention in the corner of her eye. There was live security footage always rolling of the city, and Z could have sworn she had just seen an S.P.D. cycle slide across the screen. Z perked up and pulled up the sector where she thought she saw the bike. A ray of hope washed over Z when the image on the screen was exactly what she thought it was.

"Guys, look!"

Jack and Syd rushed over and looked at the monitor.

"Is that?" Syd looked at Z.

"It's Sky, and he's heading this way, but he doesn't look good." Jack looked concerned and relieved all at the same time.

"Let's go help him." Z jumped up and they all ran out of the base to go help their friend.

They had to ride pretty close to the edge of town when they finally found one of their missing teammates. Sky was riding down the street going pretty fast when the Rangers spotted him. They realized he was not paying attention, instead he was just trying to get to where he needed to go, so the three Rangers blocked the road hoping Sky would stop. Their roadblock worked because Sky popped up a little and slammed on his breaks. Everyone stared for a moment at the rough state Sky was in, he was beaten and bloody all over, each surprised he made it as far as he did.

"Sky!" Jack came running over and just in time as Sky attempted to get off of his bike and lost his balance. Jack was able to catch him, and the Blue Ranger leaned on him.

Z and Syd ran over and helped Jack get Sky to the jeep.

"Come on we need to get you back to the base." Jack continued to walk, but Sky pulled back.

"No, we have to go to Bridge, he was himself when he let me go, but I don't know how long that will last, we have to help him." Sky looked at Jack with desperate bruised eyes.

"Hey, slow down, what's going on with Bridge, why would he do this?"

Sky shook his head. "Not him, Edward, look it's hard to explain, but we don't have time right now, we have to go back and try to get him to come with us."

Jack knew Sky needed to get to a doctor, but he also knew if Bridge was responsible for Sky's injuries then they needed to help him too.

"Okay, we go, but you are staying in the jeep."

Sky nodded and let Jack help him into the jeep. Syd drove, while Z took Sky's bike and they all headed to the building Sky had been held in. They just hoped they could help Bridge when they got there. As they drove, Syd kept looked over at Sky who was leaning against the bar of the jeep.

"Did Bridge really do that to you?" Syd did not want to believe it.

"No, Bridge didn't, at least not technically…I'm sounding like him aren't I?"

Syd smiled a little. "Bridge thinks he's Edward doesn't he?"

"I think he is him. Every part of him, personality, gestures, all of it was just like that monster. It was like he was just wearing Bridge's face. Somehow his mind is inside of Bridge's, it was like watching a weird split personality. Bridge managed to get control and get me out of there. I'm just not sure how long he can hold on."

When they got to the building Bridge was holding Sky in, Jack and Z jumped off their bikes and came over to the jeep. Sky was looking at the laboratory with caution.

"He hid our bikes in the alley, there's a side door there. That may be the best way in without sending up red flags."

Jack nodded and looked at Syd. "Stay with him."

Syd gave him a nod. "Remember he's still Bridge."

Jack and Z headed down the alley with their blasters out. They had no idea what to expect. The first thing Z noticed as they entered the alley was a large grey tarp on the ground.

"His cycle is gone."

"He probably is too, but let's check. This could be a trap so keep your guard up." Jack opened the side door and Z jumped inside checking her surroundings.

After she gave the okay, Jack followed her inside and they began to check the building. There was no sign of anything in regards to Bridge. They worked their way around until they came across a small room. Z opened the door and put her blaster down. This was where Sky had been. There was a chair in the middle of the room, ropes on the ground, and blood splatters everywhere. Memories of where Sky had been held during the hostage situation rushed back to her.

"Z."

Her attention was pulled away from the chair and to Jack who was staring at something on the wall next to her. Z turned and felt her stomach churn a little. There written on the wall were three words created out of blood. Bridge's blood:

_War is Coming_

They both knew terrible things were upon them, and they had no idea how to prepare for it, or what to do to stop it.

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**AN: Thanks for reading!**


	8. Battle Plans

**Thank you wrestlechick93, Adrianna Agray, and StyxxsOmega for reviewing! **

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Bridge had lost control of his mind almost as soon as he had gained it back again. After he was able to free Sky, Edward took over again, and he was trapped in the room he hated. The bright lights shined on him, blocking his abilities and blinding him to what Edward was up to. Anger flared up in Bridge, he wanted out, he wanted to be him again, but Edward would not let that happen. He screamed, out in his anger hoping it would at the very least give Edward a headache, but it was only giving him more control. The man was using it to make himself stronger. Edward left the laboratory after writing his message on the wall, and went to Bridge's cycle in the alley. He had a lot of work to do now.

Z and Jack stared at the message in blood. The Yellow Ranger looked at her best friend.

"What do you think that means exactly?"

Jack shook his head. "Nothing good."

"That's Bridge's blood isn't it?"

Jack did not answer that, he needed to get out of there. "Come on, we need to get Sky back to the base."

Z nodded and followed Jack out of the building, hoping to see a sign as to where Bridge had gone off to next. When they got outside, Sky could tell by the looks on their faces Bridge was long gone, and they had seen something unsettling inside. He gave them a look, but Jack spoke before him.

"We'll talk about it later, but he's not here, let's get you back and regroup."

Sky was too exhausted to argue, so he shut his eyes and Syd drove back to the academy. He did not even realize he had fallen asleep until she was shaking him awake.

"Sky, hey…time to get up." Syd's voice was soft, and for just a moment he forgot about everything happening.

Once the pain rushed back, Sky groaned a little and let his friends help him inside. He was able to walk, but he felt pain all over; he could not see straight anymore, and wanted to sleep for a week if he could, but then thoughts of Bridge brought him back.

"We have to find him." Sky was being sat on an examination table.

"And we will, but first we have to take care of you." Kat was there now surveying the damage. She hated seeing this happen to Sky again.

"Just relax man, we'll come back in once they have a good look at you." Jack gave Sky's hand a pat before leaving the room. He knew Sky needed time to heal, but he also knew that every minute they waited on a plan, Bridge was getting another minute to work on his own.

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Edward made his way down the street in search of someone from Bridge's mind. He had a lot of plans to get into place, and he needed to work fast. He had no idea how long it would take for the Rangers to catch up, or catch on to him. Finally Edward found the alien he was looking for.

"Bouncy, need to talk to you." Edward motioned for him to walk a little closer to the corner of the building Bouncy was standing by.

The slimy purple alien backed away a little when he saw the Ranger. "S.P.D, what do you want?"

Edward smirked a little. "I know you're working for Gruumm."

"W-What? I'm not…what are you trying to say?" The alien looked offended, and started to walk away a little.

Edward rolled his eyes and decided to cut to the chase. He shoved the alien up against the brick wall and held him there with his arm pushed up against his throat.

"Hey! Isn't this police brutality?" Bouncy squirmed under the grip.

"Shut up. S.P.D. is getting real sick and tired of Gruumm sending down these meaningless attempts to destroy us. He sends down one guy, we take them out, he sends down another we take them out. It's getting insulting."

"What's your point?"

"Now now, don't get sassy with me Bounce, or I may just have to teach you a little lessen." Edward ripped the glove off of his free hand with his teeth and then placed his hand on the alien's head.

"What are you doing?"

Edward grabbed the glove with the hand he was holding Bouncy by and smiled. "Hurting you."

Soon enough Bouncy began to scream in pain. "Ow! Stop it! Okay, okay I'll do whatever you want! Just please stop!"

Edward took his hand away, but kept it close just in case he wanted to hurt the alien again. "That's better. I need you to get a message to Gruumm."

The alien was terrified now. "Okay sure, what message?"

"Tell Gruumm we're getting bored. I want him to send down his best and most feared creatures, because it's time to end this fight. We've been going back and forth for too long, and right now he doesn't seem like he's even trying. Tell him to send everything he's got to the rock quarry, that's where we'll finally settle this." Edward let go and stared at the bumbling alien before him.

"Well go."

Bouncy scooted off, leaving Edward to work on his final preparations. Soon he would be in control of everything.

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The Rangers all waited in the Rec Room for news on Sky. This was starting to become a common thing for them, and they were getting sick of it. They all missed the days to them having fun doing their work and not having to worry about one them getting killed. Every second that passed seem to make those days farther and farther away as if they would never go back to the way things were.

Once Dr. Felix looked over Sky, he allowed the others to go in to see him. He was still in a lot of pain and needed rest, but wanted to talk to his team. When they all walked in, they tried to hide the looks on their faces; seeing Sky so bruised and scabbed up hurt all of them.

"I would say it looks worse than it feels, but he broke my face so can't lie about that one." Sky smiled a little, but winced at the movement.

"I can't believe Bridge did this to you." Z shook her head.

"No, not Bridge. Edward. If we blame Bridge for this, even for a second, then we've lost faith in him, and that's not something I can do. Something none of us can do." Sky tried to keep the picture of Bridge hitting him out of his mind, but was having trouble.

"How bad is it?" Jack leaned on Sky's bed.

"Guess I have a facial fracture, and a broken nose, but mostly just bad bruising besides that. My face took most of the beating, ribs are a little sore, but not broken."

"At least he didn't have a chance to use that collar on you." Z sat down in a chair.

Sky gave her a strange look. "What?"

Syd looked at the others before answering for her. "We got the inventory back from what Bridge, not Basta, stole from the evidence locker. A couple weapons, that crystal, some chemicals, and the collar Edward used on him. We thought he took it to use on you."

"He didn't have that." Sky thought for a moment.

"What is it Sky?" Z was lost.

"This whole thing is a big mess of confusion, but we know that Edward, or at least his subconscious has control of Bridge's entire mind. Edward has been behind everything that's been happening, and according to him, he's keeping Bridge locked away…in that trap we found him in. Or at least one created in his mind. I think." Sky paused a moment before going on. "Edward talks, he talks a lot about everything. He talked about the weapons he stole, the chemicals, how he got Bridge to help him get inside Basta's mind to set him and everything up, but he never said anything about that collar. He never showed it to me, never threatened me with it."

"So what's the point?" Jack was just as lost as the others.

Sky was still piecing it together. "My point, is that Edward didn't take that collar. Bridge did."

"Okay, still not following." Z looked at the others for help, but did not get any.

"Edward had Bridge locked deep in his mind, he had no idea what was going on, at least I don't think he did. I was able to pull Bridge out for just a few minutes, but he was fighting him the whole time. I think that if Bridge took that collar he did it as a message. I think he was able to fight through the control Edward has on him, and do something Edward didn't know about."

Z was starting to get it. "That collar was how we began to figure this all out. If that had not been taken we would have never suspected anything strange with Basta, and honestly we may not have realized the extent of your disappearance."

"So you're saying there is more Bridge in Bridge then we think?" Syd understood now as well.

"I think that if Bridge was able to get control without Edward knowing, then there is a better chance of us getting to him again. He may be more conscious in this than anyone, even himself, may think. If we can pull Bridge out for just a little bit, then we may give him the upper hand to push Edward out of his mind."

"Okay, but how do we that? We don't even know where Bridge is." Jack wanted to be optimistic, but was having trouble.

"He said big things were coming, he has a plan, a plan we need to stop before it starts."

"War."

Everyone looked at Z who was looking at Jack. It was then he realized that Bridge would most likely find them first.

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An Orange Head General stood before Gruumm in his ship. Mora was playing with her doll on the floor beside him. "Emperor, there is someone that wishes to speak to you."

"Tell them to go away." Gruumm growled.

"He says it's urgent, about S.P.D."

"Hmm…" Gruumm rubbed his chin before waving at him. "Let them in."

The Orange Head bowed and left to get the informant. A few seconds later he returned with a slimy purple creature in toe.

"Who are you?"

"B-B-Bouncy sir, Emperor! A loyal servant."

Gruumm glared. "I hope for your sake your information is not as ridiculous as your name."

"N-no, it's well it's a little hard to explain exactly…"

"Just spit it out!" Gruumm was growing impatient.

"S.P.D. has sent me with a message. Well at least the Green Ranger did. I thought he was the nice one, but something's different, he's gone crazy."

"That one has always been a little off." Mora rolled her eyes.

"You don't understand, he got in my head, hurt me…he said they were bored of…well of-of you." Bouncy flinched back waiting to be dematerialized.

Gruumm remained calm, but his eyes glowed brighter. "Go on."

"He said they were tired of you sending down one monster at a time, that he wanted something more exciting. More opponents to go up against, they wanted your best to fight. He said they wanted to end this battle now, at the rock quarry."

Gruumm laughed a little to himself. "So S.P.D. has finally grown tired of our little games? Well if they want to be demolished now, then who am I to decline that wish?"

Bouncy let out a sigh of relief.

"Mora!"

Mora jumped up and looked at Gruumm.

"I need you to draw as many creatures as your little imagination can think up, and make sure they are something to be feared."

"Right away Gruumm, come on Susie Sunshine we have work to do." Mora smiled as she skipped away.

"You!" Gruumm pointed to the Orange Head still in the room. "Send for Broodwing, tell him I need more warriors ready to fight."

The Orange Head gave a heavy salute before exiting the room.

"If it's a war they want, then that's what they'll get." Gruumm laughed again.

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**Thanks for reading! **


	9. Falling Into Place

**Thank you Adrianna Agray and StyxxsOmega for reviewing! **

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The Rangers hated not knowing what was going on. Over a day had passed and there was no sign of Bridge. Sky had been resting through the entire day, while the other Rangers kept a constant vigil on the security cameras hoping to catch wind of something. The streets had been quiet, Gruumm had not sent anything down in a while, and everyone was more on edge.

"It feels like a tornado." Z sat in the control room.

Everyone looked at her, not sure what she meant.

"When you know chaos is coming, but you can't see it yet, and then there is this silence, right before everything hits. This feels like that." Z shared everyone's worried expression.

Jack sighed. "Sky told us everything Edward told him. That he had weapons, he had chemicals, and he had big plans, but he's smart; never gave Sky enough details for us to do anything with. We just know whatever is coming could be anything. So we have to be ready for it."

"I hate just sitting here, there has to be something we can do." Syd shook her head.

Before anyone else could say anything the alarms began to go off. Kat pulled up the computer.

"Cadets, there are Troobians surrounding the academy."

"Okay, let's do this." Jack grabbed his morpher. "Ready?"

"Ready!" The others grabbed their morphers as well. "S.P.D. Emergency!"

The three Rangers ran outside of the building to fight all the troops Gruumm was sending down.

"There's so many!" Syd could not believe how many Krybots surrounded their home.

"Nothing we can't handle, come on!" Jack ran into the mass, taking out each robot one by one.

While the Rangers were dealing with the Krybots, creatures were being sent down to the rock quarry. Everything was going exactly to Edward's plans. He smiled as he watched the five aliens march into position. Now was the time to test his new power.

"Time to find out if you are as strong as I think, Bridgey." Edward cracked his neck and took off his gloves.

Taking a deep breath he concentrated on the energy around him. He had been inside Bridge's mind for a while, learning the inner workings of the Green Ranger. He let the energy flow through him as he put his bare hands on the ground. He could feel everything. All the energy connected to the Earth was flowing through the palms of his hands. The five creatures did not even see the Ranger before they stopped in their tracks. He connected into each of their minds, gaining control. He had to get into each one at the same time and bend their minds to his will. Bridge had even more capabilities then he thought.

Even though Bridge was trapped in his head and unaware of what was going on in the real world, he felt a sudden shift. There was energy everywhere; he could feel it in every fiber of his body. Edward was unlocking his power; figuring out his full ability to use to his advantage. Bridge was terrified at how far Edward would go to get what he wanted, but right now there was nothing he could do about it.

The Krybots were coming from everywhere and the three Rangers were fighting hard to keep them at bay. Crueger and Sam joined in the fight to help defeat the ever coming force, but they worried the foot soldiers were going to infiltrate the base. The alarms had awoken Sky from his long sleep, and he forced himself to push himself out of the bed to find out what was going on.

Kat was in the Command Center trying to keep up defenses when Sky limped through the rushing cadets.

"What's going on?"

Kat looked up from what she was doing "Sky, you should be in bed."

"Can't get much rest with all these alarms going off, what's going on?"

Kat hesitated a moment before answering. "Troobians are attacking the base."

Sky limped over to look at the security feed. Something was not sitting right with him. He pulled up the energy field for the rest of the city.

"What is it?" Kat was not sure what he was doing.

"This is a distraction."

"You mean Bridge?" Kat hated to think there was more than Gruumm at play here, but she had her suspicions.

"Edward, I think this is part of his plan. There's high energy fields happening in Sector 12. He always said he wanted to rival Gruumm, and I think this is exactly what he is doing."

"Sky I know what you are thinking, but you are not in any shape to go out in the field right now."

Sky shook his head. "Don't care, they need me."

"Sky!" Before Kat could stop him, Sky grabbed the extra morpher Kat had been working on for him and morphed into action. He had to help his friends.

As Jack was fighting a Krybot, he did not notice the Blue Head coming towards him. There was a blast from behind him causing Jack to jump, he turned around to see the Blue Head on the ground. After looking around, Jack realized everyone else was busy fighting, until he saw something blue in the corner of his eye.

"Sky?"

Sky came over to him, taking out Krybots on his way.

"Not that I'm ungrateful, but shouldn't you be taking it easy?"

"And miss all this?" Sky punched another minion.

If Sky could see his face, he would see that Jack was smiling. "Okay then, let's get this done."

"Right."

The two Rangers joined back in the fight and began knocking down as many soldiers as they could. Sky was moving a lot slower than he usually did, but he was still holding his own; his determination let him overcome all the pain he was feeling. The now six Rangers continued to fight the Krybots that seemed to keep coming, but were finally feeling the heard thin out. They were close to taking out the rest of the Troobians, when an explosion sounded far in the city. Each Ranger looked up, not sure what was going on. Crueger got on his com to talk to Kat.

"Dr. Manx, what just happened in the city?"

"I'm not sure, but there seems to be explosions going off, people are beginning to panic. You need to try and get there."

The Rangers fought harder through the Krybots, all trying to get them out of the way so they could investigate the new threat. Sky, however, knew who was responsible for the new happenings in the city, he just hoped they would be able to stop it. As the Rangers finished off what was left of the Krybots, they headed toward the explosions and found a lot of people running in panic. Sam and Commander Crueger began to help people to safety, while the others looked through the smoke to see who was causing all the chaos. Just as the expected the man wearing their friend's face was walking down the street, but what they did not expect were the five monsters trailing behind him. The Rangers got ready as Edward stopped and smiled.

"It's nice to see you spring back so quickly Sky, I was hoping to be the one to destroy you."

Sky snarled a little under his helmet. "You won't win this Edward."

Edward laughed. "Really? I have all of Gruumm's army under my control armed with weapons I stole from S.P.D., chemical traps all around the city, and your little Green trapped inside his own mind. You can't touch me without hurting him, and I have all the cards now, but you know I love to see a good show so, please don't die too quickly."

"Don't listen to him guys. Bridge is still in there, and we'll get him back. Just stay strong and work together!" Jack got his sword ready, as the other Rangers got their weapons out too. Everything was on the line now, and they had no other option but winning.

The monsters jumped on the Rangers fast, and it did not take long for the team to realize how strong they were. Gruumm had pulled out all the stops on this one, and with Edward using Bridge to control them, each Ranger had doubts of getting out of the battle alive. As they fought Edward watched in amusement. He had to keep his distance so he could keep his control on the monsters, but was enjoying every second of the battle.

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Gruumm was watching Earth from his ship, eyes glowing the brightest red they could glow. He screamed as he threw a table across the palace room.

"How could this be? What is going on down there?!"

Mora watched as well. "It would seem the Green Ranger has switched sides and taken control of all your monsters."

"They serve me, their allegiance should not be turned so quickly!"

"I think all of Green's power has gone to his head, he must have figured out how to control them."

Gruumm growled in anger. "Then send someone down there to take him out!"

"Emperor, why destroy him if he wants to take out the Rangers too? I say you let him take care of those nasty S.P.D. officers and after it's done you send down as many soldiers as you want to take out him. Taking out one is a lot easier than seven." Mora gave a matter of fact look.

Gruumm hummed in thought for a moment. "Yes, yes that is a good idea. Let them fight and let them be destroyed. Then I will destroy the Green one and finally take control of Earth. The battle for this planet is almost at its end."

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Jack and Sky were fighting a large rock made monster, barely able to hold their own. Jack kept looking through the team fighting to see the person running the show, smiling at the chaos he caused. Sky noticed Jack watching, and realized what he was thinking.

"No Jack." Sky pushed the monster away a little, ignoring the pain he was still feeling from his beating.

"Sky, I know you wanted to try and get close enough to talk to him, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen. If we can't get to him, then we have one option on how to stop all these monsters from attacking." Jack dodged a swing from the rock monster.

"We'll hurt Bridge."

"I know, but there is no other way right now. Look around Sky!"

Sky did. The Rangers were losing, and losing badly. The monsters were too much for the team, and Sky knew there was one thing that could stop the battle, and that was Bridge. If they could stop his mind from keeping control, then they could take out the monsters.

"Okay, do what you have to."

Jack nodded and let Sky hold off the monster while he got his blaster out. He jumped behind a dumpster to hide from view. He could not let Edward see what he was up to. He aimed his blaster and took a deep breath.

"Sorry Bridge." Jack shot out a laser hitting his target in the right side of his chest.

Edward had been watching the fight, keeping track of his monsters and the Rangers. He was watching a vined monster covered in thorns pick up the Pink Ranger and throw her into the Yellow when he was hit with something. Edward had not even realized what happened until he was flipped onto the ground, pain emanating throughout his entire body. His chest was smoking a little as he began to piece together what happened. He tried to look up to see which one of Rangers shot him, but he could not lift his head. He laid there in pain, keeping his bare hands to the ground, he had to keep control of the monsters.

When Jack shot Edward every single monster looked like they felt it. Each one faltered back the second the blast hit Edward's chest. That gave the Rangers the upper hand for a moment, but Edward was keeping his control even though he had not recovered from the blast yet. Jack realized what that meant. If they could not reach out to Bridge and the monsters were still attacking at full strength, then the only way to stop Edward would be to kill Bridge.

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**Thanks for reading! **


	10. Getting Through

**Thank you Adrianna Agray, StyxxsOmega, and Wrestlechick93 for reviewing! **

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When Edward got up after being shot, he managed to gain back full control of the monsters. With them under his command he could push them harder than they would on their own. Each one ignoring any pain with one goal in mind; destroy the Power Rangers. Jack was still hidden from sight, aiming his blaster at his friend. He knew he could end it all right then, stop the monsters from being under control and give them the upper hand at defeating them all. Jack watched and all he could see was Bridge. Bridge who was carefree, funny, and loyal. Jack could not do it, at least not without trying something else first.

"Sky, you need to get close to Bridge. Try reaching out to him and pull him out." He spoke over their com-link.

"And if I can't?" Sky already knew the answer.

"You saw what that shot did, if we can't reach Bridge, then Edward will win and we only have one option. He's too strong to beat unless he is put down."

Sky looked over at Jack before dodging another blow from the rock monster he was fighting. Crueger jumped over to him and began to hold off the monster.

"Go Cadet! Get Bridge back for us."

Sky nodded. "Yes, sir."

The others held the monsters off while Sky forced his way to where Edward was. Edward smiled as Sky stood before him. Sky tried to stand tall, but his pain was showing.

"I was so hoping it would be you." Edward smiled. "Why don't you fight me face to face, instead of hiding behind that helmet?"

Sky saw the twitch in his opponent's fingers. "So you can get in my head too?"

"Clever, clever Blue. For some reason I can't get through those suits of yours, but then again Bridge can't use his abilities in them either so I guess it's not all that surprising is it?"

"I won't let you win."

Edward laughed. "And what are you going to do about it? You can kill me sure, but that kills him too. You can take me out, but you'll never win, not really at least. Besides you can barely stand, what are you going to possibly do?"

Sky clenched his fists and charged towards the Green Ranger. If he could distract him, maybe he would lose his concentration on the monsters, maybe then they would get the chance to stop this battle from happening. Sky's problem now was that Edward had tapped into Bridge's full abilities. Bridge's gloves were long gone, and Edward was running on crazy power. He waved his hand in front of Sky and was able to predict every move that he was going to make. Sky ran at him throwing a punch, but Edward easily dodged it. He then tried to sweep a kick, but Edward jumped over his leg and pushed him hard in the chest knocking him down.

While they were fighting, Jack was watching closely. His blaster was ready to shoot, but he was trying to give Sky as much time as possible. Sky was not doing well at all in the fight, but he was still holding his own. Jack looked around at his friends and saw they too were still holding off the monsters, but were starting to show signs of tiring out. He did not know what to do. He had to give Sky a little more time, but the minutes passing by.

As Sky fought he tried to think of how they were going to get out of this without anyone dying, but the more he faced Edward, the less possible that seemed. If Edward could not get into Sky's head while he was morphed, then he would not be able to reach Bridge either. Sky was starting to realize what he needed to do. This plan would be extremely risky, and he would only get one shot at it, but right now he was not sure he had any other choice. Sky pushed off of Edward and backed up.

"Okay, fine, you want fight face to face? Let's do it then."

Edward gave him a curious look, but smirked a little. Sky un-morphed, and immediately raised up his shield to run at Edward. He needed to make the other man think he wanted to use his abilities to help him win, he had to do something to catch him off guard. To both of their surprise, the shield actually did help. Edward was thrown off of his feet for a moment before showing a scowl of anger and jumping back up. He was getting tired of this game. Sky glared back as Edward rushed towards him. The Blue Ranger threw another punch, but Edward grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, putting his other hand on Sky's head.

"Time to join me Blue."

Sky knew this was his chance, he would only get a moment and he hoped that Jack did not react too soon. Edward was going to try to get into his head to control him, but by doing so he would open a door into his mind. One that Sky could hopefully use to contact Bridge. This was the only way, but he could lose himself in his attempt.

"_Bridge, it's Sky. Can you hear me? You need to listen to me! You have to take control. You have to fight Edward. You have to stop all of this!" _

Bridge was still trapped in the contraption Edward had put him in. Every now and then he would get a glimpse of what was happening in the real world, or a feeling of something, but he had no way to access any of it. He was stuck, but now something was happening that felt different, something that felt off. There was a noise in his ear that was not the constant humming of the bright lights, no this sounded like a distant whisper. The voice sounded familiar, but it did not belong to Edward. No, that voice belonged to Sky.

"_You have to fight back. You have to stop this!" _

Sky was contacting Bridge again, but this time he could feel a connection. This was not just Sky reaching out, it felt like he was there. Bridge realized that Edward must be fighting Sky, trying to gain control of him. Bridge had felt part of what Edward was doing, he saw flashes of different minds; minds that Edward had control of, now he was trying to get control of Sky as well. There was no way he could let that happen. Bridge knew that if Sky was in physical contact, then he may be able to use him to pull himself out of his trap. If Bridge could tap into the connection being formed, just might be able to take back control.

"_Don't let him in Sky, I need a little more time." _

Sky heard the thoughts in his head, there was a chance. Now all he had to do was continue to push Edward out of his mind, if he could just last a few more seconds, there could be hope for all of them.

Jack had been watching from his place behind the dumpster. The moment he saw Sky un-morph he worried. He thought Sky was going to beat Edward for a minute, but then Edward grabbed him and pulled him in close. He was going to take control of Sky, and when he did the team would not have much of a chance. If one more Ranger went down, then they could all easily follow. Jack held out his blaster ready to fire, but Sky was too close. He was blocking the target. Jack's hand shook a little, knowing that as soon as Sky moved out of the way, he would have to shoot his friend and end it all.

"We can't keep them off for much longer!" Z was trying to dodge the vines flying at her from the monster she was fighting.

"Yeah, I don't how much more we can take!" Syd blocked a punch from the rock monster that was now attacking her.

"Stay strong Rangers!" Crueger was fighting two of the monsters, each holding large axe weapons stolen from S.P.D.

Sam was fighting the fifth monster, "Our energy is running low!"

All of them knew that any minute they would lose their strength, any minute the monsters would over power them, and any minute the battle would be lost. They could not keep fighting anymore, this was the end.

Jack saw his opening. Sky had moved to the right just enough. Jack's finger shook as he held the trigger. He was beginning to squeeze the trigger when Bridge and Sky both fell down. He perked up and saw Bridge begin to seize, while Sky was on his hands and knees. Jack was not sure what was happening, but he knew he needed to get out there. He looked at the other monsters and they had begun to slow down. They were all still fighting, but the Rangers were winning again. Jack ran through the fight and over to where Bridge and Sky were. He noticed that Sky was just staring at the ground, not blinking.

"Sky? Sky!"

Nothing. Jack had no idea what was going on. He got on his com-link and contacted the base. "Kat, Bridge is having a seizure and Sky's not responding to me, I don't know what to do!"

"Jack, just stay calm and try to hold Bridge as still as you can, roll him over on his side if you see any blood."

Jack held down Bridge's shoulders, but the twitches stayed violent. He watched in horror, feeling helpless.

"Come on Bridge, come back!"

On the outside, Jack could not tell what was happening with his friends, but on the inside of Bridge's mind, a war was erupting.

As soon as Edward got into Sky's head, Bridge found his way in with it. He needed Sky's strength, he needed his friend to help him win this. It felt like before for Bridge, the lights surrounding him, but this time his mind connected with Sky's before he faced Edward.

"_You can't beat me Bridge." _

"_We'll see about that." _

Bridge did not want to repeat what happened during his capture. That would not solve anything, no he needed to remember where he really was. He was not actually tied up, he was just stuck in his own mind. Edward was just using his body, but it was time to take it back. Instead of concentrating on the constant humming of the lights, Bridge concentrated on the walls around him. The mental walls holding him in his prison; they needed to crumble. Edward was too many places at once. He was trying to keep control of Bridge, the monsters, and Sky. He began to feel his link weaken. Edward decided he needed more strength, so he let go of his control on the monsters.

The Rangers noticed this shift. All at once the five monsters fell to their knees and began acting confused. The Rangers were not sure what was going, but they were thankful for their new moment to breathe.

Bridge was just starting to feel the walls crumble when the lights around him got brighter. He was losing his concentration.

"_You can do this Bridge! You are stronger than him." _It was Sky's voice pushing through. _"When Edward took control of you and stole all that stuff out of the Base, you took the collar he used on you. You took control and he never even knew it. You did that as a message to all of us. Don't let him beat you." _

Bridge was not sure what Sky was talking about. He only remembered bits and pieces of his time since Edward took over, but then a memory flashed before him. Edward had taken complete control and hacked into S.P.D. He needed Bridge's skills to do so, and in that moment Bridge was able to stay lucid enough to swipe the collar in the mix of things Edward took, without even knowing why he took it. Bridge realized that he must have foreseen Edward's plan to frame Basta. He knew his friends would figure out he was part of the break-in. If he could do all that, then he could beat Edward now.

"_I'm not really here. This place is not where I am."_

Bridge concentrated and was able to use his connection to Sky to see exactly what was going on outside of his mind.

"_I'm in the city, in the middle of a battle, and I'm going to take back control." _

Edward yelled out in anger. _"No! You are weak! You couldn't live up to your powers, and instead you stifled them! I am staying in control of this mind!" _

The walls crumbled away, and now Bridge was standing face to face with Edward. _"You're dead. I did that, and I can't undo it, but I can make sure you never creep into my head again." _

"_I'll always be here." _

Bridge nodded a little. _"The memories yes, you no. It's time for you to be put away for good." _

Bridge concentrated on every memory and thought Edward had. He needed to go backwards through his life and rely on his instincts. Bridge saw everything he had done after taking control of him, and then he saw his life again. Taking Bridge, killing the doctor, the hostage situation; all going back to his childhood. Bridge needed to take every single memory and lock it away.

"_You can't get rid of me!"_

"_I don't have to get rid of you to keep you quiet. It's time for you to fade away." _

Edward screamed out as Bridge locked the mental door he had just trapped him in. Bridge's head erupted in pain in that moment and everything went black.

Jack was alarmed when Bridge's seizure began getting worse. His alarmed feeling turned into pure terror when blood began pooling out of his nose and mouth. Jack quickly turned Bridge over on his side, not sure what to do. He looked around to see all the monsters fall in confusion, his fellow Rangers taking that moment to catch their breath. Sky was still staring at the ground, and now Bridge was starting to make weird, almost wheezing, sounds. Jack's heart was pounding in his chest, but then Bridge went still, and Sky seemed to slip out of his daze.

"Whoa..." Sky shook his head trying to steady his vision.

"Sky!"

Sky blinked a few times before looking up. "Jack? What just…" Then he looked down. "Bridge! Is he alright?"

Jack felt Bridge's neck.

"Jack!" Sky did not like how long Jack was taking.

Jack shook his head. "I don't think he's breathing."

Sky stared in horror, tears prickling out of the corner of his eyes.

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**Thanks for reading! **


	11. Not Over Yet

**Thank you Adrianna Agray, StyxxsOmega, and wrestlechick93 for reviewing! **

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Sky shook his head refusing to accept Bridge's fate. "No, no."

Jack moved his hands off of Bridge, only to have them replaced with Sky's.

"Bridge! Listen to me, you did not just go through all of that just to die here. If you die, he wins. You are stronger than that Bridge, come on!"

The other Rangers were trying to take care of the monsters so they could get to Bridge. Z held out her morpher for judgement mode.

"Not guilty? What?!" Z could not believe it.

Crueger cuffed one of the monsters. "They were not acting upon their own will, technically they have not committed any crimes of their own accord yet."

Z was tired of this. "Let's just get them all cuffed then, and quickly!"

As the Rangers started cuffing the monsters, Sky and Jack were watching Bridge.

"Come on Bridge!"

Everything seemed still for a moment, but then a sputtered cough escaped Bridge's mouth along with a decent amount of blood. He tried catching his breath as Sky rubbed circles around his back to calm him down and help him breathe.

"Just breathe Bridge, you're okay."

Bridge was shaking, He was trying to gain back his bearings. His gloves were gone, but his hands were firmly pressed to the ground. He could feel everything. His mind was overloading with information, all of which he was trying to process after basically being possessed by the man he killed.

Jack and Sky looked at their friend in worry. He had not said anything yet, and neither were sure if he was really him or not.

"Bridge?" Sky's voice was soft, unsure if he was okay or not.

"I'm me." His voice was a little raspy, just above a whisper. "I'm me."

Jack and Sky both let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?" Jack was not sure judging by the blood he had just spit out.

"Been better." Bridge started to get up, and the two Rangers helped him.

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"What's going on?!" Gruumm watched what was happening down on Earth and was infuriated at the sight.

"Looks like Green Ranger decided to be good again." Mora gulped.

"This is why I should never listen to a child! Don't let the Rangers arrest my monsters. Broodwing!"

Broodwing, who had been called from Earth stepped forward. "Yes, Emperor."

"Send down five robots, I don't care about the cost."

Broodwing almost jumped for joy. "Yes, Emperor, at once!"

"Let's see these S.P.D. brats stop this." Gruumm's eyes glowed in anger again, he was tired of losing.

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Sky was holding Bridge steady when the Green Ranger looked up. "You guys need to go in the Delta Megazord, now."

"What?" Jack was confused.

Before Bridge could explain, five robots appeared in the city, and the five monsters that were being cuffed were zapped away from their spots and into the cockpits of the giant fighting machines.

"Rangers, quickly!" Crueger was flagging the team towards the base so they could turn it into the Megazord to fight the robots.

"I'll stay with Bridge." Sky knew they would not need the whole team to control the Base, but the Green Ranger shook his head.

"I'll be fine."

"You can barely stand." Sky looked at Jack for the okay.

"Fine, stay with him." Jack took off to join the others.

Bridge watched the robots start destroying the city. "I let this happen."

"No time to blame yourself right now, is there anything we can do from down here?"

Bridge thought for a moment. "Actually, yeah there is. All those chemicals and weapons he stole, we can use that stuff against the robots. Come on."

Sky followed Bridge deeper into the city, now that Bridge had seen all of what Edward had been planning he knew where every booby trap was that the man set up. Now, though, instead of using it against the city, he could use it to help.

The rest of the team was in the Delta Command Megazord fighting off the robots. "Photon Beams!"

Z launched the beams and it knocked two of the robots down.

"We can do this Rangers, stay strong!" Crueger focused on the battle ahead.

As the Rangers continued to fight off the robots, Bridge and Sky were attempting to disable one of the chemical bombs Edward had planted. Sky watched Bridge work with shaky hands. He realized the energy from everything around must be getting to him, Sky had no idea how long Bridge's gloves had been missing. He made a shield around them so Bridge could concentrate better.

Bridge looked up. "Thanks."

"That creep really had everything planned out didn't he?"

Not looking up from the wires he was twisting, Bridge nodded. "He was smart, but he thought he was the smartest, always underestimated anyone he thought was weaker, that was his downfall."

"So he's really gone then, can't come back?"

"Yeah, locked away for real this time. He can't hurt anyone again."

Before Sky could respond, Bridge pulled out a vial of an amber liquid. He then pulled the bomb from its place in the ground and looked at Sky.

"We can call RIC and use cannon mode to shoot this at one of the robots. Might slow them down."

"Good thinking Bridge." Sky called RIC, and then looked at the vial still in Bridge's hand. "What do we do about that?"

"If we keep it in RIC's freezer compartment it should be okay until we can dispose of it."

Sky nodded just as RIC was approaching. Bridge put the chemical vial in RIC first and then went into cannon mode to load the bomb. Sky helped Bridge hold it as they aimed it towards the robot that was causing the most damage.

"Here goes nothing." Bridge aimed.

Sky pulled the trigger, and the bomb hit its target in the side. The robot faltered back and the Command Megazord pushed it down to the ground.

"That at least slowed it down, how many more of those did he plant?" Sky looked at Bridge.

"Two, but they aren't close." Bridge looked at the fight happening in front of them. The Megazord was holding its own, but five against one was causing a lot of damage. He could sense the weariness of the Rangers all the way from the ground. He had to do something.

Sky could see the weariness taking a toll on Bridge as well. He was having trouble staying focused, but beyond that, Sky could tell there was something brewing in Bridge's head.

"What are you thinking?"

Bridge was still watching all the robots. "That I can stop this."

Sky gave him a worried look. "No, whatever it is you are thinking about doing it's a no. You can barely stand right now, you don't need to be using your abilities anymore."

"If I can just get back in their heads, I can stop all of this." Bridge looked back at Sky.

"Do I need to remind you that you were just seizing on the ground about ten minutes ago. You still have blood all over your face from your nose and coughing it up. Not to mention that you've been basically possessed by a dead guy controlling you for honestly I'm not even sure how long. You are in no shape to get into anymore heads. Especially not after what just happened."

Bridge looked at the ground. "It won't be like before, they won't stay in my head. I'll make sure of that."

"And if doing this kills you?" Sky could not believe Bridge was considering this.

Bridge shrugged a little. "Then it kills me."

"Bridge." Sky gave him a warning look.

"I did all of this Sky! I can't just watch as those monsters destroy everything. I won't let him get what he wants. Now get out of my way!" Bridge pushed past Sky and began walking towards the battle.

Sky called out for his friend, but the Green Ranger ignored him. He realized there was no stopping him. Sky just hoped Bridge would not kill himself to try to fix things.

Shutting his eyes, Bridge took a deep breath and concentrated on the world around him. The battle was raging ahead of him, but he could not be distracted the by the loud sounds of crunching metal. He needed to focus on the monsters inside piloting the robots. Bridge knelt down and put his bare hands to the ground. Just like when Edward had done it, Bridge could feel everything. Now all he needed to do was focus his energy into the monsters. He had already been in their heads once, so going in again was not that difficult. He was drained on energy, so holding his control would be the trickiest part.

Sky watched as the robots stopped fighting. Bridge was a few feet away with his hands on the ground. He was in their heads. One by one the monsters jumped out of their robots and onto the ground. Sky grabbed his morpher to contact the others.

"Bridge is in their heads stopping them from fighting. You guys need to come down and arrest them before Bridge loses his control on them."

"Roger that."

Bridge was keeping his pull on the monsters, making them wait to be cuffed and carded. Now they would be guilty for attacking the rangers. As he waited for the Rangers to come down, Bridge began to feel a burning pain in his head. His mind was trying to tell him to stop, to rest after going through so much, but Bridge could not listen. Not now, not after everything he had done.

After radioing the Rangers, Sky ran up to Bridge whose face was scrunched up in pain. His whole body was shaking, and Sky could tell that Bridge needed to stop.

"Bridge you have to let go, you have stop using your powers."

"Just…a little…longer." Bridge gasped between each word.

Sky got back on the radio. "Jack, you need to hurry, Bridge can't hold on much longer."

The Rangers had just got to the ground when Sky radioed in again. "Alright guys we need to get these creeps carded fast."

"Right!" The others began weighing the guilt of the monsters and carding them.

Once all five were carded Jack got on his morpher. "All clear, Sky."

Before Sky could say anything to Bridge, the Green Ranger pulled his hands away from the ground and gasped for air. He put his hands up to his head and yelled out in pain.

"Bridge!" Sky grabbed the young man's shoulders and tried to get his attention. "It's gonna be okay Bridge. Just hang in there."

"It hurts."

"I know." Sky pulled out his morpher again. "Kat we need a medical unit out here now."

"On its way."

"Just breathe Bridge, you're going to be alright now."

"The last two bombs you need to know where they are." Bridge could not open his eyes anymore.

Sky wanted to tell him not to talk, but he knew they needed to know where Edward had planted the chemical bombs. "Okay, tell me and I'll send the bomb squad."

"Sector 2 by the mailbox, and in Sector 8 behind the orange dumpster."

"Okay, got it, now just stop talking and breathe!"

Bridge nodded and took deep breaths. That did not stop the pain from emanating from his head though. Everything was starting to be too much for Bridge, he was pretty sure Sky was still trying to talk to him, but he sounded too muffled to understand. Now that the fight was over, Bridge was beginning to realize how exhausted he was. He was so focused on beating Edward and Gruumm that he did not have time to feel any of the pain or sleep deprivation he had. His body had been worn down to its limits and now all he wanted to do was sleep for a long time.

Sky noticed Bridge's head was starting to droop. His face was still scrunched up in pain, but it relaxed as he passed out. Sky caught him before he hit his head on the ground and gently put his head against the street. It did not take long for the other Rangers and a medical team to meet them.

"Is Bridge okay?" Z ran up to see Sky kneeling over him.

"I'm not sure, he was in a lot of pain, but he was conscious and talking a little bit ago. His body has been through a lot of strain."

"We need to get you both back to the base, you aren't looking so hot either." Jack came over to help him.

Sky's adrenaline was wearing thin as well. He had been able to fight and help, but now the pain from his previous beating was starting to take its toll. Sky let the med team take Bridge and then let Jack haul him up and be used as support on the way back to the Academy. They walked back in silence. The fight was over, but none of them felt like they had won.

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**AN: Thanks for reading! Only one chapter left! **


	12. Alone

**Thank you Adrianna Agray, StyxxsOmega, and wrestlechick93 for reviewing! You three are so awesome for reviewing pretty much every chapter! Thanks for being so devoted to this story! **

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Z, Syd, and Jack all sat in the Common Room waiting for news. Bridge had passed out before they could get him to the base, and Sky was exhausted and needed checked out again. The bomb squad had disabled the chemical bombs, and the cleanup team had begun to dismantle the robots send by Gruumm. The five monsters had all been carded and were in process, and now everything was starting to set in for the team.

Syd sighed. "I'm tired of doing this. I just wish things can be normal for once."

"Can they really go back to normal now?" Jack looked up.

"Jack." Z gave him a look.

"I'm serious Z, something really terrible happened to Bridge and he almost killed us all. I don't think they are just going to let that slide."

"But he also saved us all." Syd hoped that counted for something.

Kat came in a few minutes later and the Rangers all perked up.

"Sky's resting, but you can go in and see him now. Bridge still hasn't woken up, but I think he's going to be just fine. He was severely malnourished and dehydrated…we believe he suffered a slight brain hemorrhage, which is what caused so much bleeding." Kat saw the looks on their faces. "It's been repaired, and he should be okay. If this was medicine fifty years ago that may be a different story, but now we just have to see how he is when he wakes up."

"Thanks Kat." Z nodded to her and got up to go with the others to talk to Sky.

The Rangers went into Sky's hospital room and huddled around his bed. They each shared the same look, and Sky was the one to break the silence.

"You all look just as tired as I feel."

Jack laughed a little. "I think we would all benefit from sleeping for about a week."

"Yeah that was some battle." Syd agreed.

Z nodded. "Exhausting actually, but we made it."

Sky shrugged. "Yeah, at least let's hope so."

"Do you think he's okay now?" Jack hoped they would never see an evil side to Bridge ever again.

"Bridge said Edward was gone and couldn't come back, but I don't know if we can ever really be sure. I want to believe him, but after all that's happened, there may never be a way to tell." Sky sighed.

"If Bridge says he's gone, then Edward is gone. We are going to have really show Bridge that we are here for him now, I think us avoiding him before may have been part of the problem." Z looked down feeling guilty for not being there for Bridge before.

"Z's right, we tried to be there a little for him before, but we let out opposite schedules serve as an excuse to not deal. We can't let that happen again." Jack nodded.

"I hate to be the one to say this, but how do we talk to him after everything that's happened?" Syd looked guilty, but they all knew she was right.

"He's still Bridge." Sky looked at her.

"Yeah, but his powers are unbelievable now, everything he was able to do. Even if it was from Edward it was still him, will he still be the same Bridge?" Syd hated the words coming out of her mouth.

Z shrugged. "We won't know until we talk to him."

"That may be a little difficult." Everyone looked up to see Kat standing in the doorway.

"What happened, is he okay?" Jack shared the worry of the whole room.

"Bridge woke up for a little bit, he's coherent and stable, but he's refusing to talk to anyone. He didn't even want me to tell you he woke up. He fell back to sleep just a minute ago, he still needs a lot of rest."

"He knows we aren't mad at him right?" Z's eyes were filled with sorrow.

Kat came closer to them. "I think seeing all of you is too much for him right now. I'm sure he feels guilty for what happened, not to mention scared after everything. Give him time, I think he will come around, but for now he'll need some space."

"Thanks Kat." Jack sighed. "Well I guess that gives us all time to figure out what to say to him."

Sky had remained quiet. He did not like the thought of Bridge cutting himself off from everyone. Yes, it would be difficult to face him especially after getting beaten with his hands. Life would not just go back to normal, and Sky knew that. Bridge and the team would need time to heal all of their wounds; he just hoped that eventually they would be able to move past what had happened.

"You need your rest too." Jack could tell Sky was struggling to stay awake.

"Yeah, we'll let you get some sleep." Z smiled at him.

"I'm glad you're okay, Sky." Syd put a hand on his arm before following the others out.

Sky fell asleep and stayed asleep for almost a day. When he did wake up again it was dark and the rest of the academy was sleeping. The Blue Ranger pushed himself out of the bed and left his room. Sky knew he would get yelled at if anyone caught him out of bed, so he made sure to stay quiet and unseen. He made his way to the quarantine side of the hospital wing, he knew that could be the only place Bridge would be able to stay away from everyone, not to mention it would help mellow out his abilities. Sky snuck by a nurse and darted into the only room occupied. He gently shut the door and looked at the figure in the hospital bed trying to decide if he was awake or not.

"You shouldn't be in here."

"Did you just guess it was me, or did you know?" Sky came over and sat down.

Bridge sat up in his bed. "I knew…"

This was the first time Sky got a good look at Bridge since he escaped his capture. The younger man was hooked up to an IV, he looked worn and ragged. Sky could see the strain in his face from everything he went through. "I know you don't want to see anyone, but I needed to talk to you."

"Not much to say."

Sky shook his head. "I think there is a lot to say."

"This isn't your fault."

Sometimes Sky hated that Bridge knew everything. "I made a promise to you, and I didn't keep it."

"You tried, I made sure you didn't know what was going on…I let him win."

"I knew something was wrong, and I just stood by and let that creep get deeper into your head. I could have helped, could have stopped this before it got so bad."

Bridge shook his head. "He wouldn't have let you."

"I'm sorry Bridge."

"I should be sorry…I am sorry."

"You should talk to the others Bridge, no one blames you for what happened."

"This isn't like before."

"What do you mean?"

Bridge did not seem like he wanted to talk, but he knew Sky would not leave until they did. "Even though Edward was in control it was still me…my face…the Green Ranger that stomped through the city terrorizing people. Me who let him get in my head, and me that showed too much power. Commander Birdie is going to want action taken for this, I won't be trusted anymore by anyone. I'm done…thrown off the team and maybe even out of the academy. Things will never be the same. I can't face anyone. I can't even look at you for very long, all I see is what I did to you."

"That wasn't you, and yeah you may get suspended, but we need you on this team Bridge, they can't kick you out."

"We'll see."

"Bruises heal Bridge, and so will what happened out there. They will look past it in time because you are a good Ranger. They know just as much as we do that you are an asset to this team, and honestly after the power you showed out there, they are going to want you here."

"That power is exactly what I'm worried about. I won't be trusted because I let that power get the best of me. I let it get out of control, and when the higher ranks find out what I did…Birdie will want to keep me close if they let me stay at all. I think it would just be best if I disappeared."

Sky could not believe what he was hearing. "And go where? You've told me about your past Bridge, home is the last place you want to live again."

"I might just drop by to say hi to my mom, but I can find somewhere to go. Somewhere that's away from all this."

"You don't mean that, you love S.P.D. and yeah things might be tough for a while, but they will get better. You can't just run away from this."

"I'm sorry Sky, tell the others I'm sorry too."

Bridge was done talking, and Sky was not sure what else he could say to the man. Bridge was in a bad place right now, and anything he said would not change his mind. He needed to find out what was going to happen to Bridge. Maybe then he could convince him everything would be okay.

The next day the Rangers came to visit Sky, who was ready to get out of the hospital wing and back to normal function. As they walked in, he was arguing with the doctor.

"I'm fine, better than I was two days ago and I still went out and fought an entire battle then, so I can go now."

"Cadet Tate, you have barely been admitted for twenty-four hours, we would like to make sure everything checks out before releasing you, which with your corporation will be today." The doctor gave him a stern look.

Sky groaned. "Fine, fine."

Satisfied with that answer the doctor left and the Rangers came into the room. Jack sat down in the chair next to his bed with a smile on his face.

"So I take it you are feeling better?"

"Good enough to get out of this bed."

"They just want to make sure you are okay." Z leaned on the end of his bed.

"I am."

Syd sat down at the foot of the bed. "They just don't want you pushing yourself and ending right back up here."

"I guess so, anyway I talked to Bridge last night."

"I thought he didn't want to talk to anyone." Z hoped he was coming around.

"He doesn't, I snuck in."

"That's very un-Sky like, what'd he say?" Syd nudged him a little.

Sky shrugged. "Not much. He feels guilty, really guilty for everything. That's why he doesn't want to talk to anyone, looking at us is too much for him. He thinks High Commander Birdie is going to kick him out of the academy. He's talking about leaving."

"Would Birdie do that?" Z looked at the others.

"Maybe, but Commander Crueger is submitting a report to him today of everything that happened. Crueger's opinion has sway, but it's down to Birdie in the end." Jack met Z's eyes.

"Where would Bridge go? This is his home." Syd hated to think of life without Bridge.

"I don't know. I think he's just upset at himself right now. Just wish he would open up more about everything, let us help him." Sky sighed.

Two days had passed. Sky had been given the all clear to go back to his daily activities, and Bridge was still hung up in his hospital room; still refusing to speak to anyone. Sky, Syd, and Z were in the cafeteria when Jack walked in.

"Kat and Commander Crueger are about to do a video call with Birdie; they said since I was Red Ranger I'm allowed to sit in on the call. We'll find out exactly what they want to do about Bridge."

"So this is it huh?" Z was worried.

"It'll be okay. I'll fill you guys in as soon as it's done." Jack left the room to meet with Kat and Crueger. He, along with the others just hoped nothing bad was going to happen to Bridge.

When he got into the conference room, Jack sat down next to Kat who cued up the video call. Birdie appeared on the screen.

"Hello Commander, Dr. Manx, Cadet Landers, today we are here to discuss the recent events that occurred regarding your Green Ranger, Mr. Carson. I have read your report Commander and have taken in your words with much consideration. While I do believe Mr. Carson does need to be reprimanded for what occurred I recognize that he was not acting upon his own accord. That being said Mr. Cason's abilities are evolving at what would seem to be an alarming rate. However I understand that he is an asset to your team considering the abilities the other Cadets share. Now as for what will be done…I am ordering a two month suspension upon Mr. Carson which will be spent here at Headquarters. We will monitor Mr. Carson to make sure he is not a danger to himself or others, and work with him to make sure no other incident like this occurs again in the future. After the two month period if he is deemed fit to return back to Space Patrol Delta, he will do so with his full credentials restored. Do any of you have anything to add to this?"

"I think that is an extremely fair solution to what has occurred here High Commander, thank you for taking my words into deep thought." Crueger bowed his head.

"I trust your judgement Commander Crueger, we will be awaiting Mr. Carson's arrival."

The screen went black and the three looked at each other. Jack was first to speak.

"So they aren't kicking him out?"

"It would seem not." Kat smiled.

Jack nodded at them and left the room to tell the others what Birdie had said. The others were in the Command Center waiting to hear news on Birdie's decision. They all jumped up when Jack came in. Each staying silent to see what Jack was going to tell them.

"Birdie was more than understandable about this whole mess. He wants Bridge to be on a two month supervised suspension at Headquarters, but basically he's allowed to be go back to normal after that." Jack could not believe it himself.

"That's great!" Syd smiled, but noticed Sky's look. "Aren't you relieved?"

Sky nodded. "Of course, but is that what Bridge is going to want?"

"He still won't talk to anyone, maybe he doesn't want to be here anymore." Z sat back down.

"Kat is going to check in on him now, let him know what Commander Birdie said, maybe she can get through to him." Jack hoped he was right.

Kat went into Bridge's hospital room and began checking his vitals. "How are you doing today?"

Bridge shrugged. "Fine I guess. Head still hurts a bit, but not really feeling any pain in my wrists or ankles anymore, I think Edward _fixed_ that somehow. Scars are still there, but the pain isn't."

"I would take that as a good thing Bridge, you were having a lot of trouble before."

"Yeah, so what did he say?"

Kat was a little taken back because she had not told Bridge about the meeting with Birdie, but she realized he must have just known. She smiled at him and relayed what Birdie had said.

"So I'm basically getting a slap on the wrist for almost destroying the entire city, and almost causing a war between Earth and Gruumm?"

"You seem disappointed."

"I know I should be happy I'm not getting the boot, but I think I deserve some type of punishment."

"It wasn't your fault Bridge; he got into your mind."

Bridge shook his head. "But I let him. He was there because I let him be there, aren't they worried it will happen again?"

"That's why they are going to monitor your powers, and help you come up with ways to control them so this can't happen again."

"Okay…good."

"I think you should speak to the others before you go to Headquarters. They really want to see you, and I think knowing that they don't blame you may help."

Bridge did not say anything.

Kat gave him a said smile. "Just think about it."

Two more days passed and Bridge would not let anyone come see him still. The doctor told him he was clear to leave the hospital wing which meant it was time for him to go to Headquarters. The others had given up hope that Bridge would see them before he left, but on the day he was supposed to leave he appeared in the doorway of the Common Room. His bags were already packed so he must have snuck in at some point and gotten his stuff without anyone knowing. It looked like he was ready to leave without saying anything, but then changed his mind the last minute. Everyone looked up in surprise, but did not say anything yet. Bridge kept his head down, but sat his bag down.

"Hey."

"It's good to see you Bridge." Syd smiled at him. "How are you?"

Bridge shrugged a little. "Okay, I guess. No more evil thoughts in my head. Not much pain…I'm really sorry for what happened. I shouldn't have let him in my head. I should have been more careful and told all of you, any of you what was going on, but I didn't, and I almost got everyone killed because of it. I just wanted you to know that before I left."

Jack stood up. "Bridge, this isn't your fault. What happened to you…you had to do what you had to do to survive; no one blames you for what happened."

"Yeah well, maybe they should."

"You told me to stop blaming myself, so now you need to take your own advice. Things happen, but we all made it out just fine and it's going to be okay." Sky hated seeing Bridge like this.

Jack came over to Bridge. "Nothing that happened was easy on any of us. There was a moment out there that I almost took you out, but Sky jumped in and got you back. I know it will take time before you can talk to us, and look at us without thinking about what he did using you, but when I had that blaster pointed at you all I could think about was you being gone if I pulled that trigger, and Bridge I think I speak for all of us when I say we couldn't imagine life without you. We need you. We want you to be on this team, I just hope you can get to place where you feel like you belong here."

Z jumped up and talked next to Jack. "Jack's right, Bridge. No one wants you to blame yourself, so just remember that when you are at Headquarters. We'll all be here for you when you get back."

Bridge finally met the eyes of his team. "Thanks, I really appreciate that…and I would miss all of you too if I were gone."

"Go get these two months over with Bridge, and please don't give them a reason to keep you longer." Sky smiled at him.

Bridge returned with a half-smile and nodded before picking up his bag and leaving. He had a long road of recovery ahead of him, but knowing his friends wanted him back would help him along the way. He looked at his friends one more time before leaving the room, he did not tell them in the back of his mind he was not sure if he was ever going to come back to that place again or not. Only time would tell, but Bridge knew he had a big decision to make during his suspension, he just hoped it was the right one.

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**AN: The end! I hate endings so I hope that satisfied! Thank you everyone so much for reading the story! Also while writing this I may have had another idea for one more in this story line, but would a third story be too ridiculous? Would anyone want to read it? I'm not sure about it yet, so let me know if that is something you want. Thank you all again so much for the support on this story! **


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